Some Die Young
by xIsilElensarx
Summary: After having been nearly violated by Merle Dixon and left for dead Alice runs into a small group of survivors outside of Atlanta. Having barely survived their first meeting she reunites with the Dixon brothers; both hot-headed and moody, but not alike.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! This is my first TWD fanfic and I hope that you will all enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! _

_But I want you to keep in mind that English is NOT my native language and that some spelling errors will occur – but I have read it through a million times and tried my best to spot them._

_The story is set before season 1 and it involves a lot more than just the relationship between my character, Alice, and Daryl, even though that's the main storyline. _

_I obviously do not own TWD, if I had I wouldn't be here. I would be sitting in the back of my limo making out with Norman Reedus._

It had evolved like any other worldwide catastrophe. There was no mention of it on the news or on the wireless. No pictures were taken of the wounded and there were no warnings. The first thing I could remember hearing of it was a small spread in the local newspaper. A column, no longer than fifty words, describing the odd psychotic behavior of an old man, who had killed fifteen of his own sheep.

I normally skipped merrily through these meaningless articles but the image of a completely random sheep caught my eye. I liked sheep. But I did not particularly like the column. It was badly written and its sole purpose was mainly to scare people. And it had most definitely _not_ worked on _me_. Although, if I had known the horrific truth of the matter, I might have been. A bit.

I also remember being called into the kitchen by my mother. There, on the television, was the image of a little girl being restrained by five policemen after killing and eating her own brother. Her massive wounds and yellowish eyes had kept me awake for four nights in a row. I specifically remembered it being four, because during the fifth night, my roommate had slipped sleeping medicine into my tee, having been kept awake by my endless blabbering of murderous children. I had a sister too you see, and my imagination got the better of me. After one particularly hellish nightmare I had woken, sweating and panting, convinced that my arm had been chewed off, finding that the other half was hiding under my pillow.

My first meeting with one of those things was, comically enough, during a class in art history. Our teacher came in looking like he normally does, hair and beard pointing in every direction and a hump on his back reminding us all fondly of a neat mixture between Igor and Quasimodo. In other words, it was all to be expected by Mr. Irwin. Until he grabbed one of the boys in first row and started chewing away at his face. That was rather unexpected. Even for Mr. Irwin.

I had run into them once or twice after that. But mostly, I stayed in my room. Armed with a pocketknife and a lightsaber. I had never killed one before, but I had seen a gang of men on the street rounding one up and banging away at it with their axes and baseball bats. Not really expecting my trip to the grocery store to be so dramatic, I had hurled all over the pavement _and_ my new pair of shoes. It was far from my proudest moment.

When things had started to get really bad (in other words, when the media did not seem to talk about anything else) my roommate, Denise, had bought a gun. That is when I remember being scared shitless, for the first time. I had never in my life ever held a gun in my hand; I had barely seen one up close so the thought of firing on physically made me ill.

I studied art history. I was no scarier than a power puff, _before_ Professor X had incidentally dropped his super chemical into the mixture. I had concluded in my head that I would not survive this. This was Darwin's theory proving itself right; survival of the fittest. And I was not fit.

When those things had overtaken the city we stayed in the apartment for a week, Denise and I. Watching the world from outside our window. Helicopters were dropping bombs at the most infected parts of town and armed men had started to shoot people on the street. More and more people had decided to leave town. There were a line of cars from the city of Atlanta that went far into the darkness. I considered going with them, but reason got the better of me; if a zombie did not take me down a frightened cop surely would

Denise and I looked at each other. We would not be able to survive in the apartment for more than a few days before we ran out of food. So she left and I remained, in the empty apartment, feeling as insignificant and small as one can possibly imagine. Like a robot I reached for the top shelf in our kitchen drawer and pulled out what felt like a hundred pound gun. I had seen that in movies you are supposed to pull the trigger back, so I did.

The corridor was empty, so I cautiously stepped out and into the hall. There was no one or nothing to be seen or heard except distant yelling and gunshots. Slowly I found my way across the hall, the broken glass shuttering under my feet as I went.

Entering the streets was like walking into a war. Not far from where I was standing there was a tanks firing shots at groups of dead, and people in armor and uniforms either directing people into safety or firing away at the decaying bodies.

And in the midst of all this lunacy, I was now standing, with my gun dangling from my right hand and my sense of reality slipping and exiting through my left ear. I could feel my trouser leg being pulled at and, realizing that it was a dead body with no legs, I screamed helplessly and earsplittingly loud. I stepped on it again and again but it was no use, and before I could think my last thought, the sound of a gunshot made me jump and the zombie stopped moving.

My head snapped in the direction of the shot and quickly concluded that it had to be the man standing a few feet away from me who had fired it. He was racing towards me, with the gun in his hand and an additional shotgun on his back. He was broad and muscular, but not tall and with a grim expression on his face, like he was about to scream at me. Which he did.

"Are you fucking out of your mind?" He yelled and reloaded his gun, the empty cylinders clinging as they hit the ground. "What the hell is that gun for if you ain't gonna use it?"

I looked down at it as if I had just realized I was holding it.

"Are you stupid or somthin'?" He snarled at me before he turned around to leave, shaking his head at my idiocy. Not only was I insulted, but I was burning red hot in the face with shame and embarrassment. So I ran after him.

"Hey! Hey, you!" I yelled, trying to sound more confident then I felt. He stopped and turned around to stare at me, his narrow piecing blue eyes looking me up and down. He was sweaty and smelled of gunpowder and tobacco. His dirty blond hair was matted with sweat and his flannel shirt was dirty and stained with blood. I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he had a very short fuse and decided to get straight to the point.

"I'm not stupid." I proclaimed loudly. He snarled and wiped the sweat off his forehead like he did not believe a word. I could suddenly feel my throat closing up as I looked at the chaos around me: a woman had just been shot in the head by a scared and disorientated policeman and a boy was standing in the middle of the street screaming for his mother. In an attempt to push the unwanted and sudden tears back I rubbed my eyes with my hand discreetly.

"I, I just don't know what to do." He considered me for a moment, looking embarrassed by my honesty. I was too, but I did not know what else to say. I did not know if any of the people I knew in Atlanta were still alive, and right now, I did not have the time to look for them. Firstly, I had to get out of this alive.

"Damn…" He murmured and looked around before grabbing my arm firmly and started to run in the opposite direction. "Come on."

We ran through the chaotic streets for a few blocks, the man taking out the dead that was in our way. We were losing sunlight, and I became more anxious of where we were going. But I dared not ask. He was in survival mode and when his gun ran empty of bullets, he pulled out his hunting knife and stabbed them repeatedly until they were motionless.

"Merle!" We had been running for about three blocks when he started to shout someone's name. After a couple of minutes of absolutely nothing, I was on the verge of turning on my heel and running back to my apartment. But then, the roaring of an engine filled the air as a car approached us in high speed. The man behind the wheel was bald and wearing a positively hideous leather west and a dirty blue shirt.

The car came to an abrupt stop a few feet from where we were standing, sending a few of the dead flying across his windscreen. The man called Merle was leaning out of the window with a disturbing smile on his face, looking as though apocalypse had done him a world of good.

"Who's the bawd?" His voice was rusty and rather high pitched, and it literary made my neck hair stand on edge. He was significantly older than both me and the man who had saved me.

"How the hell should I know? Just some kid." The man yelled over the sounds of sirens and screams. "One less walker to take care of later."

Before I knew it I was shoved into the front seat of the unreliable looking car, closely followed by the grim man who, when we took off, leaned out the window and took out a few of the dead nearby with the shaft of his rifle.

"Who the hell are you, girly?" The man called Merle smirked at me, his thin lips curling into a smile. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before anything sensible came stuttering out.

"I'm Alice."

"Alice, eh?" He chuckled and spat viciously out the window.

"Why aren't you dead yet, Alice?" I was taken aback by this sudden turn in our introduction, and I was left forming words with my mouth, being at a total loss for what to say.

"By the looks of yah, it ain't cus' you're a good shot." I was not sure if I should be flattered or deeply insulted. On one hand I did not want to be associated with criminals. But on the other hand, it would be nice to appear just a bit scarier than I was, so that he would not try anything. Because, you know, I'd slap him, or something twice as terrible.

"Truthfully, I've just stayed inside." Merle's laugh was so sudden that it almost sent me flying through the roof in surprise.

We continued on through the city and into the outskirts of Atlanta, all silent except for Merle who was giving me the most disturbing look every now and then and the occasional smirk. I wanted to cry and scream and laugh all at the same time. The urge to break down was partly because I had just left my home, possibly for good, partly because the world had gone to shit, and partly because Merle was freaking me out. The urge to laugh came mostly from the fact that this whole situation was ridiculous.

I was buried deep in my own mad thoughts when I felt a heavy hand on my thigh, caressing it violently. Merle was ogling me with his narrow eyes while harshly thrusting a hand under my sweater. I, who had only ever read about these sorts of assaults in the newspaper, could not really grasp the chain of events as they occurred in front of me. It was really not until he grabbed my breast firmly that I splashed sideways into man next to me, who was just as surprised by my movement as I was.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" I choked out, wrestling with his intruding arm while pushing further and further away from him, until I at one point was physically lying on top of the man on the opposite side of me.

"Merle, what the fuck are you doing bro?"

At this point Merle had stopped the car and with his free hand he grabbed me by my jaw and drew me so close to his face that I could smell the alcohol and smoke on his lips. He murmured something disgusting in my ear as he forced the zipper of my jeans down with his free hand.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." I struggled, trying to prevent his hand from slipping down my jeans, but it took both my hands and all my might to keep him from it.

"Merle, come on. Cut the fuck out!"

"You think you're better than us? You think your uptight pussy is too good for us?" His breath was damp and horrible against my ear as he grabbed a handful of my hair to prevent me from pulling away. I gave up the battle with his thrusting hand and slapped him hard across his face. I doubted that it hurt much, but the motion had wiped the smile off his face and his grip tightened around my neck.

"If you can't shoot and you won't fuck, what good are you?"

I could hear him opening his door violently, and in one swift move he threw me head first out of the car and on to the pavement. I could hear my shoulder crunch and the air being knocked out of me as I hit the hard asphalt. Before I could take another breath the car door had slammed shut and the engine roared as they took off. Leaving me in the middle of the road exposed and unarmed.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi again! I hope you enjoyed chapter one and are ready for chapter two! _

_Thank you for your encouraging reviews! I did try to make the story stand a bit out of the crowd because I didn't want it to be your usual Daryl/OC fanfic. I'm trying my best to write something believable, especially when it comes to all the characters personalities. I've watched almost __every single__ episode four of five times to make sure that I was doing them justice! _

_I hope you like it!_

* * *

It took several minutes before I could see clearly. The pain in my shoulder made my vision blurry and unreliable. By the time I was able to sit up straight the sound of the roaring Ford was long gone, and I was alone on an abandoned highway outside of Atlanta.

A part of me wanted to just lie back and wait for one of the dead to take a large bite out of me, preferably a lethal one. I have been assaulted, seriously injured and left for dead… Did all that really just happen, to _me_? The worst thing that ever happened to me, up to this point, would be being robbed of my groceries on my way back from the mall during my first year of college. I hope that thief got a great meal out of my chicken curry!

It was getting darker by the minute and, being fairly certain that I would stand little chance against a zombie in this fragile state, I got up and made my way down the endlessly long road.

I walked in the direction in which the car had driven. Not because I was particularly keen to reunite with the asshole who had thrown me mercilessly out of his car, but because I thought it would be safer to go into the countryside rather than back to the city.

After an hour of walking, totally uninterrupted by zombies or passing cars, I was freezing cold and exhausted from the pain. I had gotten to a crossing point where the road split in four directions. Without thinking twice I continued on straight ahead. The road was surrounded by open fields and little forest, an environment in which I felt safer in, knowing that I would see someone coming for miles.

After a few minutes of walking, when it had become completely dark, I came across some strange tracks that led out into the open field. Squinting, I could see something bright flickering in the darkness ahead.

The tracks were those of three cars, who led me closer and closer to the bright fire. My body was numb and drained from both the pain and physical activity, which were both foreign phenomenons to me. Finally I was close enough to hear voices coming from the camp, both male and female, all sounding frightened. Then I heard a shotgun being loaded and a man speaking to me.

"You alive?" My throat was dry and my shoulder was acing, but the thought of being shot unless I showed some kind of human reaction made me yell out.

"Yes! Yes, please don't shoot!" I could both see and hear several of the people now, two of them grabbed me gently by my upper arms, making me shriek with pain.

"Are you okay?" it was the sound of a woman, sounding concerned and anxious.

"No, I think my arm is broken or something." The two women gently led me closer to the camp, placing me in a chair close to the fire. In my current state, I could hardly see them through the fog of exhaustion and pain that blurred my vision.

"Her shoulder is sprained," a man proclaimed quietly. He was obviously was trying to examine my arm through my sweater because he tugged gently at the knitted fabric. "and she is freezing cold."

"No wonder, if she walked here all the way from the city." I could feel someone laying a blanket over my shoulders and the warmth of it made me drowsy. I could hear them murmuring close by, but it faded as I fell asleep in front of the fire.

I was abruptly awoken by a bad dream, one containing a white man wearing a leather west tearing me apart limb from limb and throwing them into an ocean of zombies. The abrupt awakening made me question for a second where I was. But when I saw the now inactive fireplace in front of me, I remembered the events of last night and I cussed loudly.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit!"

"Rough morning?" A man, older looking with a thick white beard and beige sunhat, stood across from where I was sitting, polishing a spanner while eyeing me closely. He was kind looking, but was clearly exhausted and anxious. It was clear that the inhabitants of the world had not prepared enough for when the world would go to shit. We thought that it would be another generation's problem, but now, here we are. Not being able to shot, not being able to run for long distances and especially not being able to withstand sexual assaults by middle-aged men.

"Yeah, I… I thought I had a bad dream. But then I realized that I woke up in one." He smiled sympathetically at me and reached out his hand.

"I'm Dale." I shook it awkwardly with my right, seeing that my left was currently out of service. "You from the city?"

"No, I'm from Pennsylvania. But I study… I mean I _used to_ study art history at the university in the city." I made a hollow chuckle at my own misconception that I was still a student. Seeing as I could not consider myself one anymore, I would have to make do with the knowledge I had already acquired. Which was incidentally useless. If I had been clairvoyant I might have considered taking a self-defense class instead of a knitting course. In which I, of course, am an expert.

"Aha. And what did you say your name was again?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Alice."

He gave me another warm smile and considered me for a few more seconds before he sat down in the camping chair next to mine. Then he pointed at my left arm, which lay motionless in my lap.

"What happened to yah?" I scuffed by the mere memory of it, and laughed at how ridiculous it must sound, no matter how dramatic it was. But hopefully I would never see those assholes again.

"Now that is a long story." I exaggerated, but I was really not in the mood for making a complete ass of myself to a total stranger, even if it had become somewhat of a habit of mine of late.

"Well, no matter how it happened, you got lucky." Since feeling lucky was farthest from my mind when my shoulder had crushed against the pavement after having been sexually assaulted I grimaced. "A sprained shoulder is easily fixed, no problem. A broken one…" He raised his shoulders and shook his head.

"Did you really walk all the way over here from Atlanta? Unarmed?"

"No! No, no, I ehm… I hitched a ride with someone for a few miles but, ehm… Let's just say that we didn't get along very well." Dale nodded slowly, his bushy gray eyebrows frowned. After a few seconds Dale looked uncomfortably down at his shoes and opened his mouth as if he was about to ask me something personal. And when he finally spoke it was with a low and sympathetic voice.

"Are you all alone? Where is your family?"

It was my turn to look uncomfortably down at my shoes as I desperately tried to swallow the large lump that was forming in my throat. Truth was that I had been three weeks since I last spoke to my mom. She had told me over the phone that things were not as bad in Pennsylvania and that they were all safe. But a part of me knew that she had only told me those things to stop me from worrying. And I had decided that I would not worry because it got me nowhere.

"Yeah I'm alone, I guess." My voice was shaking threateningly and I had to swallow hard before I opened my mouth again.

"Hopefully my family is safe and sound in Pennsylvania. I haven't spoken to them in a few weeks…"

Dale grabbed my healthy arm affectionately and gave me a sad smile. I quickly wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and shook my head as if to say that I was fine and that I was just being stupid.

"How about you?"

"I'm alone, same as you." Dale smiled and raised his shoulders casually. "I have been for a while. My wife, she died of cancer a few years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It was Andrea and Amy and I who first settled here." He pointed at the two women standing in the doorway of the RV. They both had long blond hair but one of them looked significantly younger than the other.

"Their car had broken down just outside of Atlanta, not too far from here. It was back when things had started to get really bad. People fled from the city like they had the devil on their tail. A few came to stay with us here, not knowing where else to go."

I looked at the people around me but I did not recognize any of them. They all looked frightened and anxious and spoke to each other in a low and apprehensive tone.

"It's not a permanent camping arrangement, but it's what we got at the moment."

"Dale?" I asked hesitantly, still with my eyes fixed on the few people who scurried around in front of me. "Are you all that that's left of the city?"

Dale rubbed his hands together uncertainly and looked up at the camp's very few inhabitants, and then he sighed loudly.

"Well, there's you."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi again, readers! _

_I wanted to thank you again for the really uplifting reviews and it's certainly keeping me going! _

_This chapter is more of an introduction to what is coming in the following chapters. I have tried my best to make them as exciting as possible, but that is for you to judge! I know I had a great time writing them! I will therefore try to upload the following chapter right away, which I hope will entice you to read on!_

* * *

Dale had kindly enough offered his bed, in a completely non-sexual way, and I had finally been able to get a good night sleep without having to open my eyes every few minutes to make sure that there were no zombies sleeping in the bed next to me. The RV had been lit up by some oil lamps and candles, and I was completely alone in it. Looking down at my left arm I realized that someone had tied it up in a sling made out of someone's Hawaiian shirt, which made me chuckle. I stood up, but the move made me dizzy and I stood for a moment clasping a desk drawer for support. Above the desk hang a dusty mirror, and I ended up starring into it for a long time. The woman looking back at me looked as though she had been tied up and dragged through Atlanta from behind a car. My brown ponytail hung loosely on the top of my head with hair sticking out in all directions. Leaning in I saw bruises on both my neck and around my jawline, and the lovely white sweater was now torn at the sleeve and full of dirt.

I gently pulled my hair free from my ponytail and it fell graciously down in a small bundle on my shoulder. My hair reached just below my shoulders and the dark color was in complete contrast to my gray eyes. My pale skin was a direct consequence of too much time spent in the library and too little spent in the sun. But perhaps that would change now that I did not have any books to hide behind anymore.

When I had overcome the shock of the state I was in I became aware of the low murmur coming from outside the RV. The sound was faint, but their voices were agitated and several people were speaking at once. I put my hand gently on the doorknob, trying discretely to turn it without drawing attention to myself. But instead I managed to slip on the doormat and went flying through the door and landed awkwardly on the muddy ground.

"Ouch."

The group of people sitting around the campfire all looked at me as I stumbled back on my feet, feeling like a complete ass. There is discreet for you.

"Are you alright?" One of the women sitting closest to where I was standing looked positively horrified. I casually tried to wipe the mud off my jeans while waving my hand idiotically in front of me as if to say that it was nothing to worry about, and that it happened to me all the time, which it did.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just slipped, that's all. Happens all the time." I said, reassuringly. "Well, not all the time but, you know, it happens… To me."

There were nine people sitting in a circle around the camp fire. The only person I recognized was Dale who was sitting on the other side of the camp fire in a purple colored camping-chair.

"Come sit for a moment, we were just talking about you." Dale got up and squeezed another chair next to his, and beckoned for me to sit down. I thanked him and sat down while looking at the strange mixture of people sitting around me.

The kind looking woman that had expressed her concern was sitting on the other side of Dale with her arms around what had to be her daughter. She was thin and wore plain clothes and her expression was drawn and her hair was gray and short, like a boy. The man sitting next to the little girl was a sour looking fellow, with a careless expression and arrogant posture. I assumed that they were a family but by the looks of it, not a very happy one.

There was another woman with a child but seemingly, without any husband. She had long dark brown hair and was possibly in her mid to late thirties. She too held, what had to be her son, close, looking exhausted and devastated.

I was introduced to the strange group of people but none of them seemed to pay much attention to me. Most of them looked tired and frightened and I figured they were just as new to this I was.

I was told that the woman and her son were called Lori and Carl. They both came across as rather absentminded and I thought that it might be because they had lost someone. I think they all had. I had too, of course; my friends and possibly my family. The only thing worse than knowing, is _not_ knowing.

The thin and exhausted looking woman was called Carol and the girl sitting next to her was Sophia. The man on Sophia's left was called Ed and he did nothing but stare coolly into the fire as Dale introduced him.

"What was the discussion about?" I asked after all the introductions had been made and we had all fallen quiet again.

"There are a few different opinions about going back into town." Shane's words made my heart stop for a split second.

"What? Why do you want to go back there?"

"Cus' he obviously wants us all dead." The man named Ed spoke for the first time, his voice thick with loading. Shane held up his hand.

"There are still people in the city, I know there is. There are people in the exact same situation as us, and we should take advantage of that! A larger group is stronger." I could see Andrea nodding eagerly at this proposal.

"Ed, how long are you gonna survive, with no food and no guns? We need provision as well as more weapons."

"Shane, just stop and think about this for a second." Dale's voice was full of skepticism. "You can't go in there by yourself. So whoever you bring with you is gonna risk their life trying to save someone who might not even be there."

Shane drew a hand through his hair and considered us for a while.

"I'm not asking anyone to come with me. But I _am_ going, and if I have to do it alone, I will."

"I'm going too." Andrea's look was determined but frightened. I think she knew what she was getting herself into but that it was necessary. "Shane's right, we have to do this."

"Andrea, no." Dale looked beside himself, pleading her not to go.

"I can't believe you're doing this." Amy's voice was full of resentment as she stormed off, leaving us to think about our options for a little while longer.

"I have to go too." They all looked at me for a long time, all looking far from convinced that I would be able to provide any kind of support without falling flat on my face, like I always did. But I had nothing but the clothes on my back, which were ruined and dirty, and I knew there were people still in there, being held hostage in apartment and office buildings with no way out.

"My friends might still be in there. My roommate she… She might be trapped in our apartment. And I don't have anything with me; I don't even have a change of clothes."

"You live in the city?"

"Yeah, I have been living there for the past three years."

Shane's dark eyes told me that he was having an argument with himself, and then suddenly it seemed to dawn on Dale that he was considering my offer, and he cried out in total disbelief.

"You're not seriously considering this. She can't be more than twenty years old; she's just a _child_ for god's sake."

"I _can_ do this." I said, determined to prove that I was capable. "I'm quick and smart, and if it makes you feel any better I was captain of the fencing team in high school."

"Fencing?"

"You know… With swords..? You'd fence with… With swords…" I really did not know how much use my fencing skills would prove to be on the battlefield where there were more pressing things to consider than minding your footwork. But I suppose it could come in handy if one the zombies challenged us to a duel, which unfortunately seemed rather unlikely.

"Shane, no."

"Dale, if she knows the city she might be of some use to us. She'd know where it's safe and where we could find provisions."

"My school." I said it the minute it hit me. Of course! A school would be the last place someone searched in the look for food and other provisions. It was probably the last place anyone would look for anything. Except for knowledge, which I had a plenty.

"The cafeteria has a storage room in the basement, which no one could get at because it is authorized personnel only. You'd need a special card to be able to get through, so I don't think it's been touched."

"And how do you suppose we get through?"

"I happen to have one of those cards."


	4. Chapter 4

It was early when Shane came to wake me the next day, but I was already awake. Not having slept much that night I was sluggish and drowsy when I met up with Andrea for a modest breakfast containing half a can of cold beans. I ate them slowly while trying not to appear unappreciative. I missed steak and gravy and ice cream and licorice. Gee, was that song a total scam, it did not help one bit to think of all my favorite things. Perhaps if I sang. But, in the fear of it not being much appreciated, I desisted.

"Did you get a good night rest?" Andrea looked as though she too struggled with the can of beans and merely swirled her spoon around and around, probably wishing for something better too.

"No, not much." I said in earnest and she nodded sympathetically.

"Can you believe this is happening?" She sounded as though she had just realized that the world had gone to shit, or that she had denied it up to a point where she could not anymore. She threw her can away and rested her head on her palm. I shook my head, not knowing what to say. In truth I doubted the whole thing myself. Perhaps it was all a mad dream I could not wake up from.

"Perhaps it's just an insane dream." I thought aloud. "Maybe I got hit by a truck on my way to school and this is all just a crazy coma nightmare." She chuckled.

"Now that'd be somthin'."

A loud clunk came from behind us. Shane had been busy making the car ready for our departure. We had all agreed on the large pick-up truck because of the space. It was old and rusty, but it was fast enough to outrun a walker, or so I was told…  
There were six guns in the camp and we would take one each, including an axe, a baseball bat and a hunting knife. I called shots on the axe, mostly because I would not be strong enough to kill someone with the blow of a baseball bat and because they did not trust me with a knife, being afraid I might stab myself with it.

"Your family, do they live in Atlanta?"

"No, they're back in Pennsylvania. I haven't talked to them in a while." I fiddled with my spoon while feeling as though someone had punched me in the stomach. "I don't even know if they're alive. They may not be, but I try not to think about that." Andrea gave me a weak, sympathetic smile.

"I know how you feel. Our parents live in Florida and we haven't heard from them since we left for Atlanta four weeks ago. It's been hardest on Amy, she's so young… There's nothing worse than not knowing."

"No, there's not."

Andrea did not look as if she had gotten much sleep that night either because she had dark circles around her eyes and her hair was tangled and frizzy. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a blue blouse and if I had not known any better I would have thought that she was going to a garden party and not a zombie-slaying-spree.

"Hey, what did you do before all this?" I asked curiously as she poked around in the fire with a stick. She laughed and shook her head, as though she could not believe it.

"I was a human rights lawyer, can you believe it? But if I had known about the upcoming apocalypse I might have considered something more useful, you know? Like, maybe, joining the army."

"I've always wanted to be a ninja." I said in earnest and shoved another spoon into my reluctant mouth.

"What did you do?"

"Something that's not even remotely worthwhile."

"Let me guess; you're an accountant."

"No, it's not _that_ bad. I studied art history."

"Yeah, that's pretty useless too."

When Andrea and I had both finished our breakfast Shane came over with our weapons and handed them out to us. I accepted mine looking grim. The last time I had a gun in my hand I did not even have the wits to use it. But I could not really rely on someone coming to my rescue this time, so I pocketed it.

Shane had found a brochure in one of the cars with a map of at Atlanta printed on the back. He kneeled down next to us and pointed at a spot a few centimeters off the map.

"This is the camp, here. Now I thought we'd go through here and down this small road to the left." He looked at me as though waiting for me to approve of this plan.

"That's my school, right there. To get there, we have to take that road and up to the left. There's a way in at the back where we can hopefully get in without drawing too much attention to ourselves." The both nodded. "And if all things fail, there's a road down that way leading out of town."

"Okay, so we're all set?" Shane nodded and gave each of us a stern look.

"Let's go."

It was a fifty minute drive from our camp to the outskirts of the city. No one had said much during this time; we were all hoping and praying that it would go smoothly. We did meet the occasional walker on the road which made me feel uneasy. I was not used to the sight of them, and especially not standing in the middle of a road just a few feet from where we were driving.

Shane stopped the car when we had reached the city. It was dead quiet, and for a moment I doubted that there were still people alive in there.

"Where're we going first?"

"My apartment. We would need the key to get into the basement."

We took off with our senses alert. My eyes were scanning the roads, but there were few dead to be seen. Most of them were probably closer to the city, where they would have more to feed on… It was not until we approached my apartment that several of them started to pay attention to us. The sound of the engine roaring in the silence caused several of them to turn their heads and follow us down the street.

"Damn." Shane adjusted his rare view mirror and cussed under his breath. "They react to sound. The engine will draw walkers for miles."

"You just keep driving; I'll go in through the front entrance and meet you out back. The sound will draw them off."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded vigorously.

"I'll be faster on my own."

I could see my apartment building drawing closer. It was a large brick building with six or seven floors, but luckily I lived on the first floor. The entrance to the building led right out on the street, so I did not have to run far.

When Shane stepped on the breaks I was halfway out of the car, squeezing through a couple of parked cars to get to the door. I ran straight at it with my right shoulder first, hoping to blast through it, but instead I was thrown back like it was made of rubber.

_Damn, shit, shit, shit, _this is impossible! The door was open when I left which meant that someone had bolted t up from the inside. I looked frantically for another way in. A pair of walkers had just noticed me and started making their way to where I stood, nailed to the spot.

I felt like a cartoon character as I looked left and right for somewhere to go. My eyes fell on a pair of cabbage containers standing next to me, and as my eyes trailed upwards I saw a small window just big enough for me to squeeze through.

I instinctually threw myself on to the large containers and smashed the shaft of my axe into the fragile glass. Walkers were grabbing my legs as I tried to push myself through. The window frame was still spiked with glass and my hands bled heavily as I forced myself through to the other side.

I hit the floor with a thump and a cry. My shoulder stung and my hands were bleeding, but luckily the hallway was empty of walkers. The door I had tried to get through was barred up with both wood and chains and I felt confident that the four walkers moaning on the other side of the wall would not be able to push through it.

I turned on my back as I tried to scrape out the small pieces of glass stuck underneath my skin. Having gotten most of it out, I stood up and started walking determinately in the opposite direction with my axe held high. Even though the sun was shining the hallway was dark and cold, making it difficult to see, but luckily I knew that the staircase was just a few feet away.

The sound of creaking floorboards made me stop dead in my tracks. My eyes widened as I tightened my grip on the small axe, but there was nothing to see. My heart thundered as I moved slowly forwards to where the hall turned a corner. My sixth sense was screaming at me from inside my head to not make that turn, but it was curiosity that had killed the cat after all, not cautiousness.

I was just about to turn the corner when a figure jumped out in front of me, giving me such a fright that my heart stopped beating for full second and a half. Without thinking twice I screamed, probably loud enough to attract the attention of walkers across state boarders. Then I felt someone clasp their hand over my mouth, shushing frantically.

"Shhhhhh! Shhhh! Please, just shut up!"

"Glenn?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi everybody! I hope you are all ready for chapter 5, because here it comes! The chapter is somewhat longer than the previous ones, but I hope you all don't mind! We meet a new familiar face and the excitement continues! I really hope you will like it. _

_Thank you for your reviews and for adding my story to your favorite story list, which really warms my heart! So I hope you will continue to R&R. There's a lot of Daryl/Alice to be expected!_

* * *

I stopped screaming just long enough to realize that the guy standing in front of me with a horrified look on his face was a familiar.

"Alice?" He dropped his hand and stared at me, as if he could not believe it either. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here, you moron!"

"Have you been here all along?"

"No, no, it's a long story. What are _you_ doing here?" He smiled incredulously at me as he lowered his cricket bat. Looking at him was like going back in time to when this was just an apartment building and he was just a pizza delivery guy who basically lived here during the weekends. Lazy students always needed pizza, and that's how we all knew Glenn. He looked the same as he had done back then; with his baseball cap, t-shirt and jeans, except that they were now dirty and hung loosely on him.

"I don't know I basically just came here looking for food when I got surrounded. I barricaded the doors and windows so the geeks wouldn't get at me. I can't believe this! I haven't seen another human being for three days! I thought they had all left."

"I got out just a few days ago when there were still troops in the streets. Where is everybody?" He drew a hand over his sweaty forehead and raised his shoulders.

"I don't know. If they're still alive they're probably hiding somewhere. The streets aren't safe." I nodded, not being able to believe that, just a few days ago, the streets were full of people fighting their way out. Now they are either dead or in hiding.

"Hold on. You got out of here, and then came back? Are you crazy? Anywhere is safer than here."

"I ran into a small group outside of town after I had left. They have food and weapons but not nearly enough to survive on. I offered my assistance." I said the last four words very casually, making it sound as though I often risked my life saving other people.

"_You _offered you're assistance?"

"…I can assist. What makes you think I can't assist?"

"Please, you're completely helpless! Remember that time you called me at work when your fuse melted, and you made me drive all the way over to bring you a different scented candle just because you thought yours smelled funny."

"It did! And I paid you, didn't I?"

Suddenly I heard the door in the other end of the corridor creak and moan under the pressure of the walkers. Glenn cursed quietly and pulled me against the wall.

"I assume you're not alone here?" I shook my head.

"No, Andrea and Shane are driving around the block, trying to buy me some time. I have to get into my room." Glenn grimaced when the door made another loud crack.

"Come on."

We ran up the stairs leading to the first floor and bolted for my apartment which was the first door on the left. I grabbed the doorknob and tore away at it, but it would not bulge. Someone had locked it from the inside.

"Is there someone in there?" I raised my shoulders looking confused.

"It might be Denise." I knocked loudly on the door.

"Denise? Denise, are you in there?" We stood there for a few seconds waiting for the door to unlock, but it did not. I looked at Glenn, who had taken a few steps back looking as though he was going to run the door down.

"Stand back."

He hit the wooden door with his shoulder and went straight through it, landing on the yellow carpet of our apartment. Just a few inches away from where Glenn was lying stood Denise, or what was left of her. Her skin had become just as gray as our apartment walls and her green eyes were now bright yellow. She had a flesh wound on her arm which was covered by a bloody bandage and it looked as though she had lost a few of her teeth. I could feel the air being sucked out of me. _No_…

She snarled loudly and reached out for Glenn, who cried out in horror. I automatically raised my arm holding the axe and flung it at her. It hit her in the left eye and she fell back, not moving. Both Glenn and I looked at her in disbelief for a few seconds before any of us said anything.

"Thanks." I gaped, opening and closing my mouth as I stared at the body of my dead roommate.

"I… I don't know how I did that. It must have been a muscle spasm or something."

Glenn laughed nervously, and got on his feet. A sound from downstairs made me remember what I was there for and I grabbed a bag from under my bed and started throwing things into it.

"Glenn, go to the bathroom and grab all the medicine you can carry." He looked flustered but did as I asked. I opened my nightstand and pulled the access card from my wallet and put it in my pocket, and then I grabbed all the clothes I could carry and threw it into the bag. Glenn came back carrying a paper bag full of bandages, bonding tape and all the other random medicine Denise had said she needed. Praising the syndrome of hypochondria I shoved it into the bag. And then, without thinking, I grabbed a photo album from my book self and put it carefully down on top of all the clutter and closed the lid.

Glenn and I were halfway out the door when I remembered that my axe was still jammed in Denise's eye. I hesitated, not wanting to look at her. But without saying anything, Glenn walked over and pulled it out, looking remorseful.

When we left my apartment there were nine or ten walkers coming up the stairs having finally managed to blast through the entrance door. We cursed simultaneously and ran in the opposite direction down the hallway.

"I said I'd meet them out back, but how the hell do we get out?" Glenn looked out the window closest to us.

"There's a car coming from the north, I suppose that's your cavalry?"

"I truly hope so."

"Then we're going to have to jump." I stared at him.

"Jump? Are you crazy? We'll break both our legs!" He shook his head and grabbed my arm impatiently as the walkers drew closer.

"We'll land on those garbage bags and make a run for it. But there are a few geeks down there, so we're gonna have to take them out."

"But Glenn I…" He had pushed me through the window before I could finish my protest. I barley even had time to scream before I landed on the soft garbage bags, closely followed by Glenn. A walker without arms had heard us breaking through the glass and was making its way through the garbage to get to us. Glenn smashed his cricket bat hard into its scull sending blood and teeth spattering through the air.

Shane and Andrea came bolting through the steel fence, knocking the two remaining walkers over.

"Did you get it?" I nodded and clasped my thigh.

"Then let's get the hell out of here."

Glenn and I threw our weapons and bags over the railing and got on. But when Shane stepped on the gas I flew backwards and was a hairsbreadth from falling off when a strong arm grabbed my sweater and pulled me back in.

"You alright?"

I gazed up at the unfamiliar man sitting on the opposite side of me; his dark eyes were anxious and tired and his dark skin was dirty and full of small cuts and bruises. He was large, and was wearing a white singlet and a black hat, and from his belt hung a bloody knife and a hand gun.

"Yeah, thank you."

I figured he had to be someone Shane and Andrea had run into on their trip around the block, but by the looks of him they had towed him from their truck for a few yards before they had let him hitch a ride. His jeans were torn and bloody and he had several cuts down his face and arms, as if he had cut himself on glass. Next to him lay a black bag and a shotgun, most likely being his survival kit.

"Who are you?"

"I'm T-Dog." I raised my eyebrows in surprise, trying my hardest not to laugh but the sound of Glenn's sniggering made it difficult.

"Really?" He scowled at Glenn whose smile quickly turned into a guilty frown.

"Yeah, really. You got a problem with that?" Glenn shook his head violently, stuttering his apologies.

T-Dog considered us for a while before he spoke, his eyes resting on Glenn who sat next to him, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

"How the hell did your cracka-ass survive in this hell-hole?" Glenn blushed and hid his face behind his cricket bat. I frowned at him.

"Dumb luck, how about you?"

T-Dog looked taken aback by this blunt comment and just nodded sheepishly as he scratched the patch of skin on his arm that was not bruised.

"I've been living in a small compartment store just a few miles from here, hoping to run into somebody. But my food supply was beginning to run short, forcing me to move out. That's when I ran into those guys." He pointed at Shane and Andrea in the front seat, looking relieved and grateful.

"I'd be zombie-meat if it hadn't been for them."

"That's Shane and Andrea; I met them a few days ago. We're living in a camp just outside of town, but we need food and weapons." He nodded understandingly.

"That's the only things that matters now, isn't it? Food and guns… It's worth more than gold."

"And we need manpower." We looked at each other for a few seconds before he nodded again. He reached for his shotgun and caressed it before he gave it to me. I accepted it clumsily.

"That shotgun is old, but damn powerful." I nodded at his description, trying to make it look as though I knew exactly how powerful his gun was.

"Your camp, is it safe?" I hesitated but eventually nodded.

"It's safe for now. But I don't think the walkers will stay in the city forever, they'll run out of food eventually. But we thought we'd find as many people as we could before we moved out."

"I'll come with yah. Anywhere is better than here."

"I'll come too." Glenn's determined look made me smile and I leaned over to give him a tight hug. We sat like that for a few seconds before we both simultaneously burst out laughing. There was nothing particularly funny, but it was the mere fact that the two most unlikely people to survive a zombie-apocalypse was sitting opposite each other looking like they had been to hell and back.

We had been driving for approximately twenty minutes when I saw the familiar brick building emerge from behind a corner, looking exactly the same as it had always done. The one difference was the occasional broken window and the fact that it was completely abandoned. I could not help but to smile at the sight of it, but when I saw the red sign outside the gates reading 'No school till further notice' the smile vanished, and I realized it was not the same.

We slowly drove through the open gates and all the way up the stairs leading to the entrance. Shane turned off the engine and jumped out, closely followed by Andrea.

"You guy's alright?" The three of us nodded quietly and looked nervously around. There was not a single person or walker to be seen; hopefully we had shaken them off in the city. Shane reached his hand out to Glenn, then T-Dog, introducing himself in a low whisper.

"What the hell are we doing here?" T-Dog held his shotgun tightly to his chest as he looked nervously around. Shane ignored his question and considered us for a while before he leaned in.

"Alice will lead the way in. There's a cafeteria we need to get into before it gets dark. We're going to have to take as much with us as we can in one go. We can't afford to go back." Glenn and T-Dog nodded, both looking uncertain and frightened.

"Glenn and I will go with Alice, T-Dog and Andrea will stay by the truck and honk if you see walkers approaching."

Shane removed his gun from his belt and jogged up the stairs swiftly. Glenn and I shared looks before we did the same though looking slightly less confident than he did.

The two large wooden doors were locked and impossible to break through without a stick or dynamite or two. Shane took off his shirt and wrapped around his fist before he smashed it through a large window on his right.

The large reception area was dimly lit by the few laps that were still working. One or two of them was flickering disturbingly, making it difficult for us to see. I looked around the room in awe. It reminded me somehow of the school massacres you would hear about on the news where a psychopath had gone crazy with a gun, shooting at everything and everyone. But even though there were no bodies to be seen, there were still bloodstains on the carpet and the walls.

I walked forwards automatically, closely followed by Shane and Glenn.

"Which way?" I tried to rub the horrible image out of my eyes before I eventually pointed straight ahead. Shane walked passed me; his steps light and his gun ready. The hallway was broad and long. We would have to take a right, and then left before we would have to go down two flights of stairs down to the cafeteria. The problem was not the hallway, but the small cupboards on either side of us. If there were walkers in there they would take us by surprise. But, thankfully, we got to the stairwell without running into anything.

There was one staircase leading up and one leading down. I automatically moved towards the one leading to the cafeteria, but then I remembered something important.

"Wait!" Both Shan and Glenn stopped in their tracks and spun around to look at me.

"The principal…"

"I don't think now is the best time to pop in for a visit."

"No, no! He's got a revolver locked away in his desk, I just remembered!" Glenn looked taken aback and moped at me.

"What? What the hell is this place?"

"Hey, you'll never know when a student might need some extra motivation!"

I turned and ran up two flights of stairs with Glenn and Shane on my tail. The third floor was reserved for teachers which meant that the hallway was full of empty offices, or at least I was praying for them to be empty.

This floor was, as well as the first, abandoned. The state of it made me wonder if they had all just dropped whatever they were holding at the time and fled because the coffee maker was on and there were half eaten sandwiches lying on the floor. I moved cautiously ahead, my fingers wrapped tightly around my axe. Against the wall to our right stood a coffee table surrounded by a large green couch. On the table stood four coffee mugs, one having been tipped over so that the white table cloth was covered in coffee.

As I looked at it a hand grabbed my leg from underneath the table. I shrieked loudly as the walker barred its yellow teeth at me, moaning loudly. I quickly raised my axe and plowed it through its arm sending me flying across the room in an attempt to get as far away from it as possible. Shane gripped his baseball bat and crushed its scull in one blow. The sight of it made me clutch my mouth to stop myself from hurling all over the gray carpet.

"Oh my God!" Glenn's eyes widened as he pointed at my leg where the walker's hand was still grabbing my ankle. I looked down and jumped in complete horror.

"Oh my God, get it off! Get it OFF!"

Shane quickly grabbed the gray rotting hand and threw it away, looking disgusted. I clutched my heart and closed my eyes and tried to think of anything that would stop me from having a heart attack. _Puppies, warm milk, polo, palm trees_…

"Are you alright?" I nodded shortly.

"I knew that the principal had a thing for me but honestly."

"Is that your principal?" Glenn made a grimace as he looked at the carcass of Mr. Ottoman.

"_Was_, you mean. I hardly think that the board of education would let him run a school in that state." Glenn smiled crookedly, chalk white in the face.

"Let's keep going." Shane stepped over the body on the floor and made his way into Mr. Ottoman's office. The room was large and had windows facing out onto the streets, but it was a complete mess. Books were spread out on the floor and the stench of his greasy aquarium tank filled the air.

I walked over to his desk and started to wrench open every drawer. One was locked, it had to be it. I jammed my axe into the crack and forced it open and, sure enough, a small handgun lay on top of his documents next to a box of ammo. I grabbed both and held them in the air like trophies. Glenn shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that guy! Who keeps a gun in a school?"

"A little late to report him, don't you think?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi again! _

_This is chapter 6 of my story Some Die Young, and I really hope you'll enjoy it! First of all I would just like to inform you that I have __never__ been to Atlanta and I have no idea of how it looks, so my descriptions are purely fictional._

_And I absolutely __promise__ that Merle and Daryl will appear in the next chapter, and, even if I have to chance my original script, I know that __**eloquent**__**dreams**__ is looking forwards to a kick in the nads, so I will personally dedicate it to you! _

We headed back the same way and down the stairs to the cafeteria. The three of us crouched down in the doorway, eying the four walkers wandering through the tables of the canteen. Two of them were lunch ladies and the remaining two had to be students. I recognized the one closest to us, Gloria, whose family lived next to us in Pennsylvania.

"Four of them, three of us." Glenn stated in a whisper, looking concerned. Shane drew a weary hand over his sweating upper lip.

"Glenn, you go left and Alice, you take the one on the right. I'll get the one in the middle. The one who finishes first takes down the last one." Glenn and I nodded nervously. "Remember, no guns."

He moved swiftly across the room towards the chubby lunch lady wandering mindlessly through the tables. Glenn gave me a weak smile before he too crawled closer to his target, his cricket bat at the ready.

Shane loudly cracked the scull of the horrible looking lady, drawing the attention of all the walkers in the room. I moved soundlessly behind the former student and jammed my axe as hard as I could into its brain, with my eyes closed of course. I was disturbed by his appearance and took several steps back when he hit the floor; his jaw was missing, as well as his left eye and ear. And he had apparently broken both his arms because they were spread out in a funny angle on the floor. Afraid I might throw up half a can of beans I turned away to see if Glenn was alright.

When Shane was done with the last walker, his bat and hands bloody, we bolted for the titanium door behind the counter. I quickly drew my card from out of my pocket and put it in the electrical locking system while dialing my access number with a shaking finger. The lamp over the door switched from red to green and then it opened.

Inside was a room big enough to hold ten people with shelves on both sides filled to the brim with all kinds of different food. We stood there for a few seconds looking as though we could

not believe it.

"Wow…" Glenn's mouth was somewhere between a huge smile and a mope as he stared at the heaps of food just lying there waiting for us.

"We should find something to put it in."

I rummaged through the drawers and lockers before I found a roll of garbage bags. The three of us were all filling the bags greedily with canned goods, bottles of water and everything else we could get our hands on. I felt as though I was robbing a bank and guiltily looked down at my sack of stolen goods.

"Hey guys, are you sure this is legal?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's not. But I promise not to arrest you."

"Can we at least leave some of it behind? There might be other people out there looking for food."

"Yeah, sure." Shane closed up his sack and threw it over his shoulder. "I don't think we'll be able to carry anymore, anyway."

Before we left I made sure that the door remained open by placing a garbage bin in between the door and the doorframe. Together we had managed to fill four bags with food and we were busy closing them up when a distant honk sounded from somewhere outside. We all froze, listening intently. The sound was closely followed by a gunshot which made us all jump. Shane grabbed two of the garbage bags and drew out his gun and then gave it to Glenn.

"Let's get a move on."

The car was surrounded by five or six walkers, all of them trying to get at T-Dog who was standing on the roof reloading his shotgun. The small street was soon filled with walkers coming from every direction as we crawled through the window on our way out. Shane was firing shots before I was able to wrap my head around what was happening in front of me. I quickly drew the gun from my belt and reloaded it, looking terrified. Glenn snatched the bag from my hand and threw it over his shoulder.

"I'll try to get these onto the truck."

"What!"

"You just focus on getting them off the car and out of my way."

"But Glenn, I can't…"

"Just do it!"

I grabbed the gun with both my hands, aiming it at one of the walkers trying to get at T-Dog. I missed by half a mile and went stumbling backwards at the sound and force. Completely panicking as the walkers drew closer I fired another shot with my eyes closed. It miraculously hit one of them in the back of the head which left me gaping in disbelief.

I walked closer and fired two more shots before Glenn was safely sitting on the back of the pick-up truck hitting away at the walker closest to him. I bolted for the car and just managed to jump on before Andrea stepped on the gas.

The walkers disappeared behind a corner making us all sigh in relief.

"Man, that was too close." T-Dog covered his face with his hands and cursed loudly. Glenn's eyes were tightly shut and his breath was ragged with exhaustion and terror. I looked down at my hands which were full of blood and shaking violently. I put the gun awkwardly on the floor as if I was uncomfortable holding it, which I was. T-Dog was watching my movement carefully.

"You never held a gun before, have yah?" My eyes flickered and I shook my head robotically. He laughed nervously and rested his head against the metal of the car, looking as though he was relaxed for the first time in a long time.

We were still driving through town when I was beginning to wonder if we were the only people still alive in the city. There was nothing but walkers to be seen wondering around among the chaos of abandoned cars and disemboweled bodies. They all craned their necks at the sound of our car and started to follow us, growling loudly.

"We can't be it." I said weakly, shaking my head in denial.

"What do you mean?"

"We can't be the only people still alive in here." T-Dog sighed and raised his shoulders.

"I haven't seen a living soul for several days. But it's unlikely that we're all that's left."

"We can't just leave them behind." Glenn and T-Dog twisted uncomfortably in their seats as they shared guilty looks.

"Alice, we barley came out of this alive. The place is completely overrun by walkers."

I swallowed hard as warm tears filled my eyes. The lump in my stomach grew as I took it all in; the city was overrun and if there were people still in there they would have lost all hope. Perhaps they were looking down at us from an office building somewhere, watching as we drove away and leaving them behind.

My depressing thoughts slipped away as we drove past an abandoned police car. Its black and white body was crashed halfway through a shop window and one of the doors was hanging open. During a split second a crazy idea occurred to me and before I had the time to think it through I had jumped out from behind the car leaving Glenn and T-Dog staring after me.

"Alice! Alice, what the hell are you doing?"

"Stop the car, stop the god damn car!"

I groaned loudly as my feet hit the hard pavement. The sharp pain jolted through my legs as I bolted for the wrecked car standing just a few feet to the right. Three of the walkers nearby had seen me and was following me with their eyes as they dragged their feet in my direction. One of them was particularly nasty with long yellow teeth and one eyeball dangling from his left eye socket.

I threw myself onto the front seat of the shabby looking police car and slammed the door shut, a few of the walker's fingers snapping in half and landed on my lap. I forced myself not to look out the window as a horde of dead gathered around the car, slamming their faces hard against the glass. With shaking hands I grabbed the microphone attached to the dashboard and pushed every button on the communication device until one finally made the small red lamp glow. A loud shriek sounded from the speakers on the roof as I brought the microphone close to my mouth.

"Hello! Hello!" The sound of my terrified voice bellowed from the speakers and through the streets.

"I'm Alice Heart; I'm staying with a small group of people just a few miles west of the city, and we have food, shelter and weapons. If there are people still alive I urge you to get out of here; the city is overrun and so is the CDC, there's nothing left."

The alarming sound of glass shattering made my head turn; the walkers pressing against the window had increased in numbers making it impossible for me to see a way out. I pushed the same button again and threw away the microphone as I backed away from the crushed window where several dead hands were reaching out, trying to get a hold of me.

Through the distorted sounds of gunshots and the loud message repeating itself on the radio I could hear someone screaming my name in despair. I looked around the car in desperation, expecting to see some kind of loophole in my suicide mission, but there were none. The only way out was through the window on the opposite side of the car, the side that was halfway through a store window.

I climbed through the car till I was squeezed against the rear window; I could see walkers approaching from every corner of the city. The sense of despair filled my body as I hammered my fists against the cold glass in desperation. Due to a small crack in the left corner of the frame I was able to break through it and, using what was left of my strength, I crawled through and onto the roof just managing to avoid the groping hands and hungry mouths.

"Alice!"

The blue pick-up truck was approaching in high speed, both Glenn and T-Dog firing shots as they forced their way through the hordes of dead surrounding me.

"You have to jump!"

I looked at the gap between me and Glenn as he opened his arms up wide, ready to catch me. If I failed I would land in the midst of five hungry walkers, a thought that made my heart race with anxiety. I frowned and shook my head violently at Glenn.

"Are you crazy! I can't jump that far!"

"Then sprout some wings, girl, or we're leaving yah!"

I looked down at the gap one more time before I forced my eyes shut, praying for a pair of wings and I leapt forwards. I landed head first onto the trunk of the car, my face scraping against the metal as Shane stepped on the gas, distancing us from a certain death.

"Are you out of your mind, or just a downright fool?"

T-Dog was looking at me as though he could not believe his own eyes. I could not have felt less like a hero as I turned on my back with grimace, poking my face gently with a finger, shivering at the touch.

"I think I must be." I croaked as I pulled myself up, feeling as though someone had taken a swing at my face with a hammer. "A fool, I mean."

"Well, if that message won't do the trick I don't know what will." Glenn was helping me to an upright position as T-Dog cursed loudly and dried his sweaty head on his singlet.

"You got balls, I'll give you that."

"Thanks… I think."


	7. Chapter 7

As we left town the sound of my voice faded into nothing more than an inaudible murmur before it finally disappeared completely. It was only a matter of time before the car would run out of electricity or be crushed by walkers, but in the meantime it would perhaps serve some use. Only time would tell.

When we approached camp both Dale and Amy came running to meet us, both looking as though they had been counting the hours since we left. Andrea jumped out of the car to greet Amy trying to reassure her younger sister that she was all alright. Glenn and T-Dog grabbed my arms gently and carried my beaten body across the field and placed me in a camping chair close to the fire. It was obvious that Dale was taken aback by the state I was in because he verbally attacked Shane the minute he got out of the car.

"What the hell happened out there? Did you drag her here from behind your truck? It looks as though she's been to hell and back."

"Haven't I?" I moaned as the two men dropped me gently down on the chair.

"There were… Complications." Shane said as he unloaded the four sacks of food from behind the truck. Dale stood his ground and continued staring at Shane, expecting him to explain exactly what had happened to us.

"Not now Dale." Shane walked off before Dale could say another word, leaving him dumbstruck on the spot. Instead he turned and walked over to where I was sitting and crouched down, looking both angry and concerned. I tried to put on a bright smile but the left side of my face was burning uncomfortably and I was forced to grimace instead.

"What on earth happened to yah?"

"Nothing… Nothing serious. I'm fine. Really." It did not seem as though Dale paid any attention to my ridiculous claims because he was busy examining my bloody hands.

"I, uhm… I had a fist fight with a glass window." I said sheepishly. "It lost." Dale, who looked as though my harmless joke was far from funny, called Carol over to take a look.

"These wounds, they have to be cleaned. Are there any more bandages left?" Carol nodded vigorously.

"But we need to get you cleaned up first, come on." Carol led me to a place just behind their tent where a large washing barrel stood filled with water.

"I was just about to wash some clothes but…" Her sentence trailed away as she leaned in to feel the temperature of the water.

"It's a bit cold but I think you'll appreciate it never the less." I smiled and thanked her warmly before I clumsily tried to wiggle out of my dirty sweater. I groaned as I twisted my shoulder in an attempt to pull it over my head making my joints and cuts sting uncomfortably. Thankfully Carol helped me out of my clothes and held my hand as I lowered myself into the cold water.

"Ah…" The familiar feeling of water wrapping around my aching body made me shiver with joy. I quickly counted the days in my head; it has been six days, _six days_ since my last shower.

As I soaked my head in the cool water I was beginning to realize how I had managed to survive a zombie-apocalypse. No matter how much I hated admitting it, it had nothing to do with skill or wits or fencing-lessons but luck. It was all luck. The sudden realization that I had nothing to do with the fact that I was still alive made me dizzy and scared. Because eventually my luck would run out and when it did I would have nothing but my skills to rely on. And my skills, well, let us just say I had misplaced them somewhere back in Philadelphia.

After what felt like several hours I got out of the washing barrel feeling better than I had done in a long time. I wrapped my body in a warm towel before I tip toed my way to the RV where I found my bag of clothes lying on the bed. I dried my hair and body before I rummaged through the large bag for something practical to wear. The search made me realize that my clothes were mostly too nice for a camping trip and I was left choosing between a blue cardigan and a sea green sweater with a deep neck line. I pulled the sweater over my head and stepped into a pair of jeans. I looked at myself in the mirror but the person looking back at me made me feel uncomfortable and indisposed. The chiffon sweater hung loosely on my torso and my jeans barley stayed on my hips as I walked closer to the mirror.

The nice colors looked bizarre against the bruises and cuts on my face and the low neck line exenterated my thin chest making it look as though I had just escaped ten years in a prison cell. The expensive clothes made me feel silly and a part of me wanted to rip them off and crawl under the bed sheets completely naked. But instead I fell down on the bed fully dressed, dragging the purple colored sheets over my body and falling asleep momentarily.

It was the sound of voices that woke me from a blissful and carefree sleep the next day. I forced my eyes open and tried to turn my head in the direction of the sound. The three different male voices were inaudible through the walls of the RV but I could tell by the tone of voices that it was neither Dale nor Glenn or T-Dog. Exited by the thought of it being someone from town that had heard my message I stood up and walked over to the door, listening intently.

I turned the door handle casually and was halfway out the door when I saw a pair of familiar faces standing just a few yards from the RV, one wearing a distinctive looking leather west and the other a torn flannel shirt and baggy jeans. My foot stopped in midair as I looked at the two men in complete shock. The sound of my surprised gasp made them both turn around, which in return made me jump back into the RV and shut the door.

Of all the people in all of Atlanta to stumble into our camp it had to be the two sons of bitches that had left me in a ditch for dead. My heart was racing as I stood rooted to the spot in the middle of the RV. They had seen me, hadn't they? Of course they had seen me! They were probably standing outside right now, laughing at me. I gathered what little courage I had and opened the door slowly.

"Well, look who it is little brother." Merle's mouth twisted into a half smile as he squinted at me through the sharp sunlight.

"How you doin', sugar-tits?"

I scowled viciously at Merle as he chuckled hoarsely at the sight of me.

"We looked for yah along the highway, didn't we Daryl? Got mighty lonely without yah."

But the man called Daryl just stared at me, completely ignoring his brother's snide comment. I could feel his bright eyes on my face, glaring at my bruises and cuts, just as I could feel Merle's eyes on my deep V-neck. I crossed my arms defiantly and continued to scowl at Merle.

Shane, who had been watching us quietly the whole time, cleared his throat uncertainly.

"You know each other?" Merle sniggered and placed his hand halfway down his trousers as he looked at me.

"Let's just say we had a brief encounter back in Atlanta."

"Brief and _intrusive_." I added with clenched teeth as I continued to glower at Merle. Merle snorted loudly and spat nastily on the ground, still with his hand down the front of his trousers.

"You survive a plane crash or somethin'?" The man called Daryl suddenly spoke for the first time with the same southern accent as his brother but with a different undertone, one that did not reek of cruelty and spite. I frowned at him and shook my head uncertainly but when he drew a dirty finger over the left side of his face I quickly covered my own, feeling self-conscious.

"No, no, I… Well, I… I…"

"Looks like someone took a swing at yah with a frying-pan." Merle interrupted my stuttering attempt to explain myself with a sarcastic remark and a malicious chuckle. I could feel my face going scarlet as he laughed malevolently at his own joke, and I glared furiously at him. Suddenly he started moving towards me with his arm outstretched as if to grab my butt. Before I knew it I had grabbed him by his shoulders and thrust my knee hard between his legs, sending him staggering backwards in shock and pain. I stood there staring at him with enormous eyes as if I could not believe what I had just done. He fell to his knees with his hands covering his crouch, his face distorted with pain and fury. I took a step back as he reached out his arm to grab me, cursing under his breath.

"I'll… _kill_ you..!"

The memory of Merle grabbing my face and throwing me mercilessly out on the street flashed before my eyes and I could not help but grin as he continued to shout insults and threats at me.

"Oh gee, I'm sorry! My knee seems to have a mind of its own. Oh well, forgive and forget, right?"

* * *

**Personally I hope she kicked him hard enough to stop him from ever reproducing. But I suppose, since it's my story, I can do whatever I want! So I say she ****did**** kick him that hard! I hope you feel it for the rest of your life, Merle Dixon! **


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi guys! _

_Thank you __so__ much for all your nice comments and I really can't get enough of them, so keep reviewing! And I am thrilled that the previous chapter lived up to its expectations (yes, I'm thinking about you eloquent dreams!). _

_This chapter is actually one of my absolute favorite chapters and I had so much fun writing it! It's a chapter filled with Alice/Daryl and I really, __really__ hope I have managed to make him believable. Because I didn't want it to be a typical fluffy Daryl/OC fanfic were Daryl is completely out of character. He curses, he's rude and he is hot-headed and that's how I'e tried to portray him. _

During the past few days I had seen little of the two brothers. We had people coming both day and night and we were occupied by different tasks. Merle and Daryl were mostly in and out of town, fetching supplies as our group multiplied. During the first day we had had as many as six people joining us, some in groups and some were alone.

"We had heard your message," a man called Morales had told me one night while we were sitting around the camp fire. "my family and I. We were staying in a hotel just a few blocks away. After a few days we thought we were the only people left."

It had now been three days since the last couple of people had joined us and our camp was beginning to look more and more like a small village, the RV being the epicenter. We all took turns in keeping watch during the night, mostly from the roof of the van. Tonight it was Dale's turn and as I looked up at him from my spot near the fire I could see him walking back and forth like an attentive solider.

T-Dog and Glenn, my usual dining buddies, were busy helping Shane change a tire on Ed and Carol's Cherokee and I had been left sitting there alone with my thoughts.

I looked around at what had now become our group; Andrea and Amy were sitting outside their tent looking at what had to be an old photo album, both laughing joyfully at the lost memories of their past lives. A man named Jim and a woman called Jacqui, who had joined us just a few days ago, were chopping wood and folding laundry while talking calmly to each other about something imperceptible.

My eyes kept wandering till I caught the eye of Daryl. He was sitting on a log underneath a nearby tree next to his brother who was busy pouring down a bottle of Dale's finest whisky. He was holding a dirty rag in his hand, trying to remove the blood from one of his arrows, but his heart was not in it. He was staring at me from across the fire, squinting as though he was looking directly into the sun. The minute our eyes met I looked away, trying to make it look as though it was a mere coincidence that he was sitting at the spot I happened to be staring at.

To my great horror he got up and started walking towards me. A part of me was prepared to be yelled at. But he did not yell. He did not even speak at first until he finally opened his mouth a few seconds later.

"I told him to go back for yah." He was staring uncomfortably into the fire as he spoke, as if he was too embarrassed to look me in the eye. "That night we left town."

I glowered at him.

"Let me guess; he forced his hand down your jeans and gave you a little massage before he threw you out of his window and took off. Isn't that what he normally does to people who cross him?"

Daryl scowled offensively at me and swooped down to press his face threateningly against mine.

"You don't know shit about my brother." He hissed at me before he stood up, and then turned around to stormed off, leaving me to stare after him.

I tried to stay clear of Daryl during the next couple of days, and after a few days of not seeing him anywhere I figured he was not too keen on seeing me either. The little guilt he felt towards me seemed to have disappeared completely and he was back to his temperamental self. Merle, on the other hand, was beginning to get on my nerves. He's eyes followed me where ever I went and when we would unfortunately bump into each other he would stare at me with a grim face and whisper threats into my ear as he passed me by, often containing violent, sexual acts that sounded far from erotic. Then, of course, he would grab my butt aggressively and saunter off.

But today had been a particularly enjoyable, Dixon free day. Merle had been lying in his tent for the past six hours, a suspicious smell oozing from the open flaps, and Daryl had been out hunting.

When he finally returned it was dark and half the camp had gone to bed. The only reason I was still awake was because Glenn had indulged me in a game of Monopoly which had already lasted for hours (I suspected it was because he kept robbing the bank when I looked the other way).

"Ah, Daryl, there you are." Dale had been busy cleaning his rifle when Daryl came walking across the field with his arms full of dead chickens, which he threw on the ground as he entered camp.

"Do you mind taking the first shift tonight with Alice?" My head snapped in the direction of the two men.

"Yeah, I mind." He said briskly and gave me his usual unfriendly glare. "I ain't no friggin' babysitter."

I gave Glenn my racecar, stood up and started walking unconcernedly towards the two men.

"It's okay Dale, I'll handle it." I said casually as I took the rifle from Dale. "And don't worry; I'll make sure this old man doesn't fall asleep on duty."

I could feel Daryl's cold eyes in the back of my neck as I walked smugly off in the direction of the RV.

I climbed the small ladder leading to the roof and plumped down in a tired looking camping chair. I could hear Daryl cuss as he came walking over, hardly looking at me as he came climbing up the ladder with his crossbow safely on his back.

We sat there in silence for a long while, staring into the unsettling darkness. It was not a pressing silence but it sure was uncomfortable and I started wrecking my brain for things to say.

"How come you went back to Atlanta? I thought you were, you know… going somewhere else when you… dropped me off."

Daryl had pulled out his rag and was once again busy cleaning his arrows. For a long time I did not think he would answer but eventually he looked sideways at me and shrugged.

"Merle left some of his stuff behind." He said shortly, not feeling the need to explain to me what he meant by stuff. But something told me that by 'stuff' he was referring to whatever it was Merle had been smoking in his tent all day.

"I recognized your voice on the message." He said after a while, still with his eyes fixed on his arrow. "That damn thing drove me nuts. I swore that if I ever saw you again, I would kick your teeth in. Didn't think I would, though."

"Didn't think you would, what? See me again? I'm not _completely _helpless, you know." He still would not look at me but I could see the faintest grin on his face as he turned slightly towards the light to grab a water bottle.

"Rich girl like you? Bet you couldn't hit a walker between the eyes even if he stood three feet away from yah."

"What on earth makes you think I'm so rich?" He gave me a three seconds long glare as he opened the bottle and took a sip, pointing at my sweater with a murky finger.

"Look at yah. You're going to the prom or something later?" I snorted loudly and blushed when it sounded more like it had come from a pig rather than a human being.

"I don't really know, I haven't checked my mailbox in a while, perhaps I missed the invitation. But I don't have a date anyway, so to hell with it."

"Why don't you just as your boyfriend, the china-man?"

"He's Korean." I said humorously. "And he's not my boyfriend."

"Whatever."

"But, you know, I might have stolen these clothes. You really shouldn't judge the book by its cover. In that case I'd say you were a…" I was stopped mid-sentence by Daryl's terrifying glower. My mouth was hanging open as I tried to redo my verdict of him before he threw me off the roof.

"Aaaaaa fashionable man with a lovely temper." He shook his dark blond head at my wicked save and took another large gulp of water, some of it spilling from his lips.

"It ain't just 'cause you dress like a good-damn Barbie-doll, it sounds like you've swallowed a friggin' dictionary or somethin'." I moped and scratched the back of my head, being at a total loss for what to say.

"Not that I've been aware of…" He raised a thin eyebrow at me.

"I mean… No, I _ain't_."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, stealing looks at each other when we thought that the other was not looking. Daryl was not the sort of man I would normally find attractive. The men plastered on the wall in my apartment were mostly tall, sleek and kind-looking, and not to mention clean. But after another look at the grim man next to me I realized that he was, somehow, good looking. Thought it would probably not hurt him to take a wee bath.

"Thanks for not kicking my teeth in." For the first time all night he looked me in the eye, though just for a brief second. Then he sniggered, as though kicking my teeth in would have been hilarious.

"No problem."

"How the hell did you get out of there, anyway? The whole place was crawling with walkers when we got there."

"Would you believe me if I told you I shot my way out of there?" He grunted loudly.

"The hell you did."

I laughed nervously and shook my head as to say that he was right; I had done no such thing. But I did not go as far as to tell him the truth, mostly because he did not ask for it. He probably believed that someone had come swooping down to save me, like I was some kind of damsel in distress. In fact Glenn would tell you that I was _the _damsel in distress, but what did he know, he just delivered pizzas.

Daryl gave me a look that I thought was puzzling. He continued to polish his arrows for another while longer before he suddenly put them away, stood up and reached for something behind his back. It was a small silver gun which I recognized.

"Thought you should have it back." He said quietly and put it in my hand. "Even if you don't know how to use it."

"Where did you find it?"

"It was just lying on the floor in our truck. You probably dropped it when…" He stopped mid-sentence and looked awkwardly at his feet.

"When I "fell" out of your car? Yeah, I probably forgot to grab it before I was sent flying out onto the street." He snorted and gave me a weak smile before he sat back down.

"Was it horrible?" He asked sincerely. The strange question caught me off guard and it made me wonder if that was his way of asking me if I was alright. I lifted my shoulders and smiled feebly.

"Let's just say that I found the whole experience character building. In a brutal, uncomfortable sort of way." Daryl stared at me for a long time before he shook his head for the thousands time that night.

"You ain't all there, are yah?"

"Maybe not." I said humorously. "I'm just trying to have a positive outlook on things, despite the fact that the world has gone to shit."

"Keep it up while you can," he said as he pulled the string on his crossbow back, his muscles flexing impressively in the dim light "reality will probably come crashing down on yah once you hit puberty."

"Exactly how young do you think I am?"

"12?"

"No, but close. You only missed by 11 years."

"Well, you look like you're 12."

"And how many 23 year olds have you ever met?"

"A few…" The strange tone of his voice left me wondering. What on earth did he mean by that? Did Merle keep a stack of young girls underneath the hood of his car? Or did he just mean that he had "seen" them. My mouth tightened as I looked over at him, picturing him lying between the thighs of a 20-year-old girl.

"Ew, you're an old man."

"Screw you, Barbie. I ain't no old man."

"And how did _they_ look, exactly?"

"You know; big tits and really short skirts." He smiled sheepishly and drew a filthy hand across his face. "Just the way I like 'em."

"I seem to have forgotten my stripper clothes at home." I said, trying not to make it sound as though I gave a damn. Which I kind of did. I could feel my skin turning green with jealousy as he kept sniggering at the thought of his so-called "typical" 23-year-old. I did not really know why I cared. It had probably something to do with the fact that it would be nice to have someone gawking over me _other_ than Merle. Which sounded completely shallow, almost enough to make me want to take it all back. Almost.

"Merle don't seem to mind your fancy clothes."

"Well obviously he isn't as picky as you."

"I ain't picky." He said and spat over the railing. "You ain't half bad."

"Aren't you a peach."


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi guys! _

_I have absolutely nothing to declare today, so feel free to skip this! Except for thanks again for all your great reviews, keep it up and I promise to keep updating!_

* * *

When I woke up the next day I was still sitting in the scrawny looking chair on the roof of the RV. But it was not Daryl that sat in the chair next to me, it was Shane.

"Good mornin'."

"Hey." I said and rubbed my eyes sleepily. "I'm sorry, I must've fallen asleep."

"Don't worry about it. We're all alive, aren't we?"

It was close to sunrise and the camp was quiet. I squinted at my wrist watch and when I realized that it was only half past four I groaned quietly. As I adjusted in my seat I could feel my bladder almost bursting so I stood up hastily. A blue shirt fell off my lap as I got up and I was left staring at it for several seconds before I picked it up. It was wrinkled and smelled of tobacco but it looked clean. I clenched the shirt and wondered if it was Daryl's.

"Is this yours?" Shane leaned over and looked at it.

"No, I don't think so. It's probably Daryl's."

"Where is he?"

"He took off a couple of hours ago. He didn't want to wake you."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"No it doesn't."

I automatically turned in the direction of his tent but the only thing in there was Merle, snoring loudly.

"He's probably out hunting." Shane said as he pulled his cap backwards.

"Yeah, probably."

It would be pathetic to say that I waited for him the whole day but I did. After breakfast I had gone down to a nearby creek to wash his shirt. The cigarette smell was so strong that it took me an hour and a half and two bars of soap to scrub it clean.

But by nightfall I had completely forgot about Daryl. Glenn, T-Dog, Amy and I were playing monopoly by the fire while enjoying a chocolate bar Glenn had found in his backpack.

"Glenn, what the hell are you doing?" Amy, who had just shoved a large piece of chocolate into her mouth, pointed at Glenn who looked horrified.

"What?"

"You just took something from the bank!" Glenn raised his hands innocently. "I saw you! Put it back! You're a total cheat!"

"I _told you_ he cheated!" I said triumphantly. "We played for four hours yesterday and his pile just kept getting bigger even though I owned over half the streets!"

"Now hold on," T-Dog raised his hand in mock sincerity "the man brought chocolate, let him cheat!"

I laughed loudly as I got up to get another bottle of water from behind the RV (Shane and Jim kept moving them to make sure they were kept in the shade). I could still hear them laughing at each other as I opened the bag and grabbed a bottle but as I turned I walked straight into Merle who was smiling oddly at me. He was wobbling unsteadily and by the smell of him he was extremely drunk.

"How you doin', sugar-tits?"

"I'd prefer it if you called me Alice." His moist eyes stared directly at me, as if the alcohol had not affected them and then he grabbed my waist violently. I gave Merle a determined shove to indicate that I was not in the mood for his shenanigans but he would not bulge.

"You changed your mind 'bout us yet, hun'?"

"Hardly."

"You don't know what you're missin'!" I watched as he groped his crotch fiercely with his right hand and licked his thin lips.

"Merle!" Daryl's voice sounded from somewhere behind us. The noise had made Merle slacken his grip so I spun around out of his grasp, taking several steps back.

"There's my useless baby brother!" Merle grabbed Daryl's face with both his hands and looked at him. "Where yah been all day, Darlene?"

"Out huntin' you old fart." Daryl said and shook off Merle's sweaty hands. "What do you think you're doin', bro?"

Merle turned his head and gave me a disturbing look and blew me a kiss. I grimaced and took another step back in pure disgust.

"We were just havin' a bit of fun, weren't we honeybun'?" Daryl grabbed his brother's shoulder as if to lead him away but Merle shrugged it off and stuck a fat finger in his face.

"You're just jealous 'cause you ain't getting any pussy, ain't that right baby brother? We both know that the ladies always preferred Merle!"

"It doesn't look like this one's interested, dumbass."

"Well, I ain't sharin'." Merle said and hiccupped as if he had not heard a word. "So you just keep your dick where I can see it."

And then he walked off, bumping into the RV as he staggered away in the other direction.

"You alright?"

"How much do you charge?" Daryl looked perplexed.

"I thought I could hire you as my personal bodyguard." He snorted and adjusted the crossbow hanging on his back.

"Sorry kid, I ain't for sale."

«Darn it.»

"Merle's just bein' Merle."

It was not until he shifted uncomfortably that I noticed that Daryl seemed to be carrying what looked like a bunch of dead squirrels and rabbits. I automatically gasped in horror.

"Are those… _dead_ squirrels?"

"Yeah, they don't taste so good but at least it's better than canned soup."

"If you think I'm going to eat that you're crazy." He huffed and looked slightly offended.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when you're all starvin' to death."

He was about to walk off when I suddenly remembered why I had been looking for him all day. I grabbed his shoulder before he could leave and told him to wait. He gave me a short nod and threw his prey on the ground. I ran over to the tent I had been borrowing from Jim and grabbed the neatly folded shirt from my matrass.

"Here," I said as I handed it over to him. He accepted it awkwardly and looked a little embarrassed "and thanks."

"It was the only thing I had that was at least half clean." He said and shoved the shirt into his back pocket. "Didn't wanna spoil your nice clothes."

"I, ehm… I washed it for you." He looked at me as though I had just spoken to him in French. I blushed and scratched my arm awkwardly. "It really smelled like cigarettes so I just thought you'd like it better if it smelled nicer… Maybe…"

"You didn't have to do that." He said quietly, sounding surprised.

"I know, I just… I wanted to do something nice. You know, making you smell good to all the ladies in short skirts." He grunted and gave me a weak smile, his eyes avoiding mine like usual.

"Thanks…"

"Alice, where you at?" T-Dog's deep voice interrupted the silence that had fallen between me and Daryl. It was almost a relief to escape it and get sit down with my friends again. Even if Daryl did not come across as a particularly sensitive guy I had the feeling that he was not at all used to having people do nice things for him, and a part of me hoped that he had appreciated it.

"Ouch! Damn, damn, damn!"

"What happened?"

"I cut my finger on the stupid knife." I exclaimed loudly and put my injured thumb in my mouth. Amy crooked an eyebrow at me and giggled.

"You're not even bleeding."

"Maybe it's internal."

Amy threw one of her half-peeled potatoes at me and laughed loudly when it fell down my t-shirt. Amy and I had spent all morning peeling potatoes down by a small and dirty creek just outside our camp. We had been given a barrel each and were now half way through the massive pile and it was safe to say that we were both extremely exhausted and ill-tempered.

Amy threw her knife away and put her hand on her back, moaning loudly.

"My back hurts."

"My thumb hurt…"

"Why do they _always_ give us the most boring jobs?" She asked angrily and looked crossly over her shoulder at Shane who was currently cleaning his gun.

"Because they think we're useless." I said in earnest as I scrutinized my thumb for blood. Amy looked extremely offended and muttered something about Shane, probably something insulting.

"We're not useless."

"Yes, we are." I said matter-of-factly as I too tossed my knife away and sat back in my chair. "We're completely useless. We can't even peel potatoes without being injured."

"Speak for yourself…"

"Let's face it; we wouldn't even be here if someone hadn't swooped down and saved us in the last minute."

"God, I hate it when you're right."

"Just get used to it. It happens a lot."

None of us were in a particularly good mood that day, mostly because the radio transmitter has stopped working. We were all hoping that it was just something wrong with the device but those hopes were quickly crushed by Merle.

"The radio is fine! They've just stopped givin' a shit about us."

Everyone seemed to be occupied by their own thoughts, including myself. The radio had been the last thing that connected us with the rest of the world and it was a real blow to the stomach when it suddenly disappeared. We were all alone.

I had been sitting alone in my tent for the past half hour, buried deep in my own thoughts, when I suddenly came to think of something. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a large wooden photo album my mom had made me when I had left for college. I smiled as I gazed down at the photo on the cover; it was a picture of me when I was little, hanging around my mom's neck.

I took it with me as I went outside, trying not to draw any attention to myself. I made my way behind the RV and found a spot on the grass where I sat down and opened the book joyfully. There were four pictures on each side, all with my mom's handwriting underneath.

I touched the pictures with a gentle and longing finger as two salty tears hit the paper. I had thought that the happy memories would make me feel better, but they had not. A part of me wanted to throw the book into the water but instead I clutched it gently and accepted the tears as they came rolling down my cheek.

"Hey, you alright?" I quickly dried my eyes on my sleeves as Daryl came walking up behind me.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine; I was just looking at some old pictures, that's all." I laughed half-heartedly and shook my head. "I'm just being stupid, I guess."

It looked as though Daryl was having an argument with himself whether to walk away or not because he was looking over his shoulder and scratching the back of his head uncertainly. But eventually he sat down next to me, his elbows resting on his knees.

As I continued to dry my eyes desperately on my sleeves he pulled out a red rag from his pocket and handed it to me. I hesitated.

"Don't be such a brat, I just washed it." I blushed and accepted it, smiling appreciatively.

He leaned over to look at the pictures I had been caressing longingly a moment earlier.

"Is that you?" He pointed at a photograph of me from when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. I chuckled and closed my eyes in embarrassment.

"Yeah, it was my cousin's eighteenth birthday party. I, ehm… I had a thing for pink back then."

"Hell, how did you eat with those things in your mouth?" He was sniggering at the braces I was wearing and looking as though he could not imagine anything worse.

"The worst three years of my life. My brother used to call me brace-face, original huh?" I smiled and pointed at the adolescence boy who was trying to ruin the picture with a grimace.

"Don't tell Glenn though."

I turned the page and moaned longingly when I saw all the pictures from my brother's wedding.

"Oh, this is from my brother's wedding! He got married just before I left for college."

I smiled down at the photograph of my brother and his wife, Catharine. They looked so happy and I was left wondering if they were still together, or more importantly, still alive.

"I remember being really jealous of him, because I'd wanted to get married first. But he beat me to it."

"You got someone, back home?"

"No, no, no, no." I said repeatedly as to make sure that he did not misunderstand me.

"Why not?"

The strange question caught me a bit off guard and left me feeling a little irritated. It was not a deliberate choice to be alone, if that was what he thought.

"I don't know. Perhaps they all just think I'm weird."

"'Cus you ain't queer, are yah?" I laughed loudly and placed a finger on my chin as though I was seriously considering it.

"No, but that would make things easier, wouldn't it." He creased his nose at the thought.

"And do you really think that is the _only_ logical explanation as to why I'm still single?" He raised his shoulders nonchalantly.

"I just told you, I'm _weird_."

"Christ, you whine like a spoiled brat!" He proclaimed harshly, rolling his eyes at my lack of confidence. "I bet some crazy bastard wouldn't mind sharin' a bed with yah."

"True," I agreed casually "but odds are he's probably lying in a ditch somewhere with a bullet through his head." He eventually nodded in agreement before he turned his attention towards the photo album.

"Were you a bride's maid or somethin'?" After a while, when I had turned another page, he pointed at another picture of me where I was sitting on a garden bench with a bouquet of flowers lying in my lap as I smiled widely at the photographer.

"Yeah, I was, along with my little sister Cara." I squinted down at the picture as if I had never seen it before. "I can barely remember this being taken. I guess it just feels like such a long time ago."

"You looked pretty."

I looked over at Daryl in amazement, almost expecting to see him smiling crudely and tell me to get my head out of my ass. But he did not; he was gazing down at the photograph as though he was studying it.

"What?"

"Are you deaf or somethin'?" He said briskly in his usual cross tone of voice as if I had offended him. "Good lord..!"

"No, I was just… thanks."

He showed a hint of a smile as he nodded shortly and got up and left.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hi guys! _

_This chapter is rather short, but is one of my two favorite chapters so far, so I really hope you like it. The excitement is at the end!_

_I'm in the middle of my exam period but I will definitely try to update as often as I can, but if a couple of days passes that's my excuse!_

_Please keep R it makes me happy, happy, happy!_

* * *

As a student I had always felt that a week resembled a year in terms of length, but in camp we were always occupied by something and the days just flew past. During lunchtime, when most of the women were down by the creek washing clothes, it was brought to my attention that several of them were upset by the housewife role they had been given by the men.

"Haven't you noticed that we are the only ones doing all the cooking and washing around here?" The woman named Jacqui had answered my witlessness impatiently as she flung a wet t-shirt into the barrel next to her.

"They just don't want to admit that they don't know how to do it themselves." Andrea said heatedly and drew a tired and wet hand over her sweaty forehead. Jacqui chuckled gravely.

"Oh, they know," she said knowingly. "it's not rocket science."

"To them it is."

"It's not that they don't know _how_ to do it," said Lori as she wrenched the water out of one of Glenn's t-shirts "they just ain't got the patience."

"I wonder how men would have handled not having women around to do their laundry." Amy said wonderingly.

"They'd be running around polluting the air with their stench."

We all laughed cheerily at Jacqui's crude comment before Lori eventually came to the men's defense.

"Well, at least they're doin' the stuff _we_ wouldn't do in return." She said as she grabbed another dirty piece of clothing from the barrel. "Like fixing cars, keeping watch and going huntin'. I don't know about you but I would _never_ touch those dead things Daryl brings home from his hunt."

Amy creased her nose and made a sound of repulsion as Lori mentioned Daryl.

"I wouldn't touch _anything_ he offered me, let alone a dead squirrel. He's god awful."

I could feel my face growing red as Amy continued to insult Daryl to everyone's amusement.

"Daryl's not _that_ bad." I said casually, hiding my crimson face behind my dark hair while soaking a pair of jeans in the water. I could feel all their eyes on me and I suddenly felt the need to defend the man who had not only saved me once but twice already.

"He is at least sort of decent… Compared to Merle." I quickly added as an afterthought to get them to stop looking at me. Lori nodded greatly as if she could not agree more.

"That guy gives me the creeps." We all agreed loudly and shook our heads in disgust.

Half an hour later we were finishing up and heading back to camp with four barrels full of what were now clean clothes. I welcomed the solitude that followed after what had been a tiring day for all of us.

Carol and Lori went to retrieve their children from Shane's care; Lori's eyes lingered on the former police man as she thanked him seductively and then turned to leave. Andrea and Amy were busy hanging the clothes up to dry in the frying sun and I saw my opportunity to escape, only for a minute.

I walked thoughtlessly across the field and towards the forest while chewing slowly on a piece of straw. I closed my eyes appreciatively as the afternoon sun licked my face pleasantly. Before I knew it I was standing by the edge of the forest, gazing curiously into the calm shadows. I heard a twig snap in the distance and I froze momentarily. My heart razed as I squinted into the forest for any sign of life, but the trees were all clustered together so it was difficult to see very far.

For a moment I thought I had imagined it but then I figured that it might just be Daryl coming back from his hunt. I stepped soundlessly into the green forest and looked around; there was nobody.

"Daryl?" I called out uncertainly as I continued on through the forest. I had walked for about ten minutes when I suddenly turned my head in the direction of a faint snarl. On my left lay a woman I recognized from our camp, Patricia; her green eyes were staring into empty space and her face was chalk white and covered in blood. I gasped loudly when I realized that someone was couching next to her with their arms buried deep in her abdomen.

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand as I let out a weak cry. The walker hunched over Patricia turned its head and stared eagerly at me while barring its bloodstained teeth. It dropped what appeared to be her liver on the ground and stoop up. I stared horrorstruck at the female walker as she reached out her arms and walked towards me.

I stepped backwards in terror and reached for my gun, but it was not there. It was lying safely in my tent which meant that it was of little use for me. Instead I turned on my heel and ran in the opposite direction, the walker closely following behind. As I looked over my shoulder I tripped clumsily over a log and fell forwards. My head slammed painfully against a small rock and I was left staggering backwards while trying to stop the blood from running into my eyes.

My ear-splitting scream did not seem to frighten the walker as it grabbed my leg fiercely. I kicked its head repeatedly which seemed to do very little damage because it just snarled at me and pulled viciously at my trouser leg.

I heard a loud plunge and a thump as the walker suddenly released me from its grip. The blood flooded into my eyes as I tried to see what had happened to it. Then suddenly someone grabbed me violently and shook me.

"Are you out of your mind?" Through the blood I could see Daryl's furious eyes staring at me. I smiled in relief and, without thinking; I wrapped my arms around his neck and laughed loudly while thinking that I had never been happier to see him. The hug lasted for no more than a second because he pulled me away and stared angrily into my eyes.

"What the hell are you doin' out here?" He shook me like a naughty child and cussed loudly.

In the corner of my eye I saw something move and I shrieked as another walker lashed out at Daryl who quickly flung his crossbow over his shoulder and crushed its scull against a tree. As it fell to the ground Daryl thrust the tip of his crossbow into the walkers face repeatedly until he was completely sure it was not moving. I stared at the mess on the ground but looked away quickly when I could feel my breakfast making its way up again.

Daryl pulled out the arrow from the walkers head and wiped it on his jeans, and then he turned around to glare at me again.

"You're a real piece of work, lady." He said ferociously and shook his head. "What the hell were you thinking coming out here by yourself?"

I looked at the distant carcass of Patricia White and buried my head between my knees as warm tears rolled down my cheeks and into the grass.

"You knew there were walkers in the woods and you didn't tell us?" I demanded of him.

"Of course I didn't know, you stupid girl!" He yelled at me as he paced up and down like a wild animal. "But your god damn hysteria will probably draw every walker for miles!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

He stopped pacing and clenched his teeth angrily, looking as though he was biting back another sarcastic and crude reply. I touched my head wearily and flinched when my finger hit the open wound. Daryl looked awkwardly at the ground as I took off my shirt and pressed it against my head.

"You alright there?"

"Do I look alright?" I said in my most irritable tone voice while dabbing my wound with my white linen shirt. He walked over and crouched down next to me and held four fingers up in front of my face.

"How many fingers am I holdin' up?"

"Eleven and a half?"

He put down his hand and removed my shirt to take a look at the wound. He grimaced and cursed silently before he took my arm and wrapped it around his neck. He grabbed a hold of my waist and pulled me back up on my feet. I swayed dangerously against his body and I had to shake my head violently to regain consciousness. Before I knew it he had grabbed my legs and was carrying me effortlessly out of the dark forest.

"You really don't have to carry me; I think my legs are fine." I said crossly as I wrapped my arm awkwardly around his neck.

"Well, I ain't got all day."

Daryl's face and beard was muted and clammy and he smelled strongly of sweat and blood. I creased my nose at the unpleasant smell and waved my hand dramatically in front of my face. He glared at me.

"What?"

"It wouldn't kill you to take a bath." He snarled and stopped abruptly.

"You know I could've just left your sorry ass!" I pressed my lips tightly together to stop myself from laughing and put my hand up as to say that I did not mean any harm. He glowered at me for a few seconds before he started walking again, cursing under his breath.

As we left the forest my head started to throb uncomfortably. I closed my eyes tightly shut and moaned as I laid my head carefully down on his shoulder. I knew there was an 85 percent chance of being shrugged off but my head was threatening to explode and I was so dizzy that I had to at least try. But there was no shrug or a crude and sarcastic comment about leaving me behind. He just ignored me.

"Thanks Daryl." I said quietly after a few moments of silence. He shrugged unconcernedly.

"Yeah, well who else is gonna look after your helpless ass."


	11. Chapter 11

_Hi guys! _

_I'm now through my first exam and only have three more to go(!)... I'm sorry for the absence, but this chapter is quite long, so I hope you forgive me!  
I had to rewrite the ending because I was afraid you'd all hate me, so I changed it to something less fluffy. I want Daryl to be Daryl! Hate me either way, I don't care...! ... Oh, please don't hate me! I'll do better! _

_R&R and I will love you forever!_

* * *

Several people were storming towards us as we approached camp. It was almost completely dark now and several were holding flashlights and lanterns as they sprinted across the field. Shane stuck his flashlight in our faces and sighed in relief.

"Get that darn thing out of my face!" Daryl growled impatiently.

"It's Alice and Daryl!"

"Thank God!" Amy flung herself around my neck the minute Daryl had put me down.

"We were looking all over for you! Where have you been?"

"There are walkers in the forest." Daryl told Shane before I could even open my mouth. Shane's face hardened and he stared at the two of us. "They're movin' out of the city, we can't stay here."

"Patricia she… They got her." I said with a shaky voice as I squeezed Amy's hand tightly. Several of the people who had now gathered around us gasped and shared horrified looks.

"We can't stay here." Daryl persisted. Shane rubbed his face worryingly and pulled Daryl over to one side.

"How many did you see?"

"Just two, but there are bound to be more."

Shane turned around to look at us and then his eyes fell on me as if he had just realized I was there. He frowned angrily and came towards me with big heavy strides.

"What the hell were you doing out in the woods?" He whispered angrily.

"Nothing, I was just… I was just walking." He smiled furiously as if he could not believe my stupidity.

"Are you completely out of your mind? You can't go wandering through the woods unarmed! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Hey!" Daryl stepped between us and put his hand up in front of Shane. "She's already had one asshole tell her how stupid she's been."

Shane nodded tensely and rubbed his face in exhaustion before he turned away to speak to Lori in a low voice. Daryl marched off towards his tent and disappeared behind the curtain before I was able to thank him. Carol had grabbed my arm concernedly and took me away to clean my wound.

We spent most of the night and the next day discussing our options. Several people had already left in fear of being invaded during the night and the few of us that remained were left with two options; we could either move further away from the city or we could become less accessible by moving our camp to a more unreachable location.

"Unreachable, how?" Lori asked as Shane laid out our options one evening we were all gathered around the fire.

"Into mountains, maybe."

"We should just get the hell outa here!" Daryl had, ever since we ran into the two walkers in the woods, expressed his eagerness to leave. I too had to admit that I had not slept very well for the past two nights having to open my eyes every few seconds to check that there were no bloodsucking walkers standing in my tent.

"Just pack up and go. It ain't safe here." Several of the people around me nodded vigorously. Shane placed his hands in his belt and considered us for a while.

"Where are you gonna go Daryl?" Daryl, whose arms were crossed tightly across his chest, did not answer.

"I think we should go into the mountains. It'll be safer and almost out of reach."

"What mountain, Shane?" Dale sounded skeptical and fiddled uncertainly with his hat. Shane obviously did not have anything to say and stared awkwardly down on his feet. Merle snorted loudly and spat viciously on the ground.

"This 'ere is bullshit." He said hoarsely. "If you wanna stay behind and listen to this dumbass motherfucker, fine by me. But we're leavin', if y'all don't mind."

Both Merle and Daryl walked off and disappeared behind a tent. Daryl had shared an unreadable look with me before he glumly followed his nauseating older brother. I was left wondering if this was just another empty treat. Well, most of the people in camp would probably not consider it a threat but more of a relief to be rid of the Dixon brothers. I wanted to run after him and persuade him not to leave but Glenn's tentative voice caught my attention.

"My mom and dad used to take me camping up in the mountains when I was little." When he realized that we were all staring at him he swallowed hard and stuttered on.

"There's a road that goes through the woods and up the mountain. It leads to this camping site just above a small creek. It should be safe." Shane looked at Glenn for a long time before he nodded slowly.

"You know how to get there?" Glenn nodded vigorously and pointed excitedly at the road just below us.

"There's probably just a two-hour-drive from here, two and a half if we want to avoid the city."

As Shane kept interrogating Glenn I slipped away unnoticed. I snuck over to Daryl and Merle's tent and coughed loudly before I poked my head in only to find that it was empty. The tent was large and was split into two individual rooms. They were both filled to the brim with clutter and the smell of it made me crease my nose. It smelled of dirt and booze and cigarettes. I quickly exited and took a deep cleansing breath before I walked over to their car which was parked just behind the RV. As I approached I could only see a pair of legs sticking out from underneath the truck. I figured it was Daryl because of his tired old sneakers and baggy jeans. Suddenly he cursed loudly at something I could not see.

"Something wrong?" I asked timidly as he pulled out from underneath the car with a particularly grim facial expression. He turned to look at me as if he had just realized I was there.

"Piece of shit won't start." He said through gritted teeth and kicked the side of the car angrily.

"Can't you fix it?" Daryl stared incredulously at me as he dried his hands on a small rag.

"What the hell do you think I'm tryin' to do here?" He snarled and wrenched open the hood as he cussed loudly at my stupidity. I frowned and walked determinedly after him as a wave of rage bubbled up inside me.

"Why can't you just stay?" He glanced up at me from underneath the hood and snorted.

"Why the hell do you care?"

"Because I do."

"Well I don't."

"How can you be so selfish? What about me? I'm helpless, remember? If you leave I'll probably get eaten by a gigantic zombie-bear or shot myself in the head while cleaning my gun!"

Daryl slammed the hood shut and turned briskly around to glower at me.

"You ain't my god-damn problem!"

I stood my ground as he leaned in close to yell viciously at me. We stood there looking at each other for a long time before I finally looked away and smiled tentatively.

"I don't want to be your problem; I just want you to stay."

I spent the rest of the day in my tent, avoiding everyone. I had been lying on my small matrass for four hours pondering over everything I did not want to ponder over. I was angry and upset and tired and reckless all at the same time and it was exhausting. I did not really know why I did not want him to leave. He was a selfish ass who obviously did not care about anyone other than himself. So why I should care was a complete mystery to me. It had to be the part of me that believed that he did care, deep, deep, _deep_ down. The part of me that was suppressed beneath all the other emotions.

I could feel the temperature drop in my tent as the sun disappeared behind a mountain. The sudden temperature change forced me to crawl under the blanket and the warmth of it made me drowsy. My eyelids slid shut and I drifted off, but only for what felt like a second. When I opened my eyes again it was completely dark in my tent and I realized that I had been sleeping for more than just few seconds. I blinked several times to adjust to the darkness and fumbled for my flashlight, but it was not to be found anywhere. I cursed and squinted at my watch; it was either half past two or ten to four, in other words it was no use.

I felt around until I found the zipper to my tent and slid it open. The full moon was the only light source but I could still see T-Dog sitting on the roof of the RV with his rifle on his lap. His arms were crossed and his head had fallen forwards so I figured that he had to be asleep. I frowned angrily and crawled out of my small tent to give him a reprimand, but I bolted backwards when I saw something dragging its feet across the campsite. If it had not been for the fact that the walker had a large flesh wound on its leg I would have mistaken it for a human being.

I stared at it in horror as it walked across the camp towards the RV, its eyes fixed on T-Dog. It had not noticed me so I quickly looked around for some kind of weapon to kill it with, but it was too dark to see, as if my eyesight was not bad enough to begin with. My eyes fell on Daryl and Merle's tent as the walker continued to gait towards T-Dog. Daryl's crossbow was leaning up against a rock just outside their tent. I had to force myself out of shock before I was able to move towards the weapon to my left.

I tried to move as quickly as I could without drawing any attention to myself but it was difficult and without a flashlight I could barely see the ground in front of me. As I crawled through the darkness my hand scraped against a tent peg and started to bleed. I gasped at the sudden pain and to my horror the walker turned its head in my direction, its black eyes shimmering in the moonlight. I clasped my mouth in horror and watched as it made its way towards me. I stood up and bolted for the crossbow, but when I found that it was not loaded, I panicked.

I tried to repeat what Daryl had done and drag the string back, but it was almost impossible. I pulled and pulled until the crossbow made a small click and then I jammed an arrow into the slot with shaking hands. As the walker was almost on top of me I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

It was motionless when it landed on top of me and I could see the arrow sticking out at the back of its head. Someone behind me was unzipping their tent while cussing loudly. The person grabbed the walker and pulled it off me and grabbed my face anxiously. It was Daryl.

"Are you alright?" I turned to look at the walker lying next to me in horror, but my eyes were forced back on to Daryl as he continued to clutch my face. He was only wearing his jeans and his toned torso made me blush violently as he shook me gently as if to make sure I was alive.

"Hey! You alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Don't fuss." I said casually as I put down the crossbow and sat up. But in truth my heart was razing and my hands were shaking as I drew a weary hand over my forehead. Daryl looked anxious but at the same time he was smiling crookedly at me.

"You got balls, kid."

"I hate that expression; it indicates that only men are capable of doing brave things." I said crossly as I brushed some dirt of my sweater and pulled my messy hair behind my ears.

"And besides, I have to start fending for myself now, right? Now that you're leaving."

He looked uncomfortably down at his feet and scratched his face awkwardly.

"We're, ehm… We're not leavin'." My head spun around and I raised my eyebrows in astonishment as he brushed some gravel and dirt off my back.

"Really? Why not?"

"Just changed my mind, that's all." I smiled widely at him and nodded wordlessly at his sudden change of heart. I could feel myself blushing as he grabbed my waist and pulled me back up. I leaned in at his touch, but I did not mean to and when he released me I quickly stepped back and thanked him clumsily.

"What the hell is goin' on out 'ere?" Merle came stumbling out of his tent only a moment later with a grumpy facial expression and only half dressed. Shane and Dale were also making their way towards us with their guns at the ready, both looking anxious. Dale's eyes widened as he saw the dead walker lying next to us and sprinted over with his mouth hanging open.

"What on earth happened here?"

"I told y'all this was gonna happen!" Merle stared at the rotting carcass next to us and kicked it hard before he spat viciously on it. "Didn't I tell yah? We should have gotten the hell outa 'ere when we had the god-damn chance. You sons of bitches got what was comin' to yah."

"Shut the fuck up, Merle, she could've died!" Daryl spat at his older brother whose face had become even grimmer than it had been three seconds earlier. As Merle closed the gap between them I stepped tentatively behind Daryl who stood his ground.

"Since when the hell did you start givin' a rat's ass about her?" He did not answer as Merle pressed his face close to Daryl's. "You got a crush on her, huh, Darlene? She ain't nothin' special. And she ain't worth your pitty."

"Merle, that's enough!" Shane held up his hand and frowned heatedly. "Alice, you alright?"

I nodded from behind Daryl's back and saw from the corner of my eye T-Dog running towards us with his rifle dangling from his shoulder. He looked beside himself and clutched his forehead in horror as if he could not believe what had just happened.

"Oh my God." He panted breathlessly as he stared at the disturbing body of the walker.

"Damn, I must have fallen asleep or somethin'… You alright, girl?"

I had barely opened my mouth when Daryl lunged forwards and grabbed T-Dog by his shirt with both hands and pushed him harshly backwards. I gaped in horror as he leaned over him, his clenched fists threateningly close to T-Dog's face.

"This wouldn't have happened if you'd been doin' your god-damn job!" T-Dog looked thunderstruck by Daryl's sudden rage and could not do anything but gape as Daryl shook him violently. "You fucking lazy piece of shit!"

"Daryl, what the hell are you doing? Stop it!"

I covered my mouth as Shane grabbed Daryl from behind and forced him off T-Dog. He staggered backwards away from Daryl who looked absolutely beside himself with fury. Merle, who had been watching Daryl's outburst with enormous pleasure, cursed loudly when Shane seized his younger brother and moved angrily towards him, as if to knock him over the head with his shotgun.

"Drop it, Dixon." Dale's shotgun was pointed at Merle, who stopped dead in his tracks. He lowered the shotgun slowly before he raised his arms defensively and laughed a hoarse and cruel laugh.

"Take a chill-pill old man, I ain't hurtin' nobody."

The chaos dissolved as Merle stepped away from Shane and Shane let go of Daryl, who wrenched out of Shane's grasp the minute he slackened his grip. Dale kept pointing his gun at Merle until he disappeared behind the tent flap, cursing under his breath. Shane grabbed the carcass and threw it into the fields, away from the campsite. I think we all agreed that it would be a bad idea to have a walker lying in the middle of the camp. Not only was it extremely uncomfortable but it would probably also scare the living daylight out of the other survivors in the morning.

I sat down beside my tent and watched as Shane pulled the walker out of sight. I buried my fingers in my tangled hair and closed my eyes tenderly, the cold night air rippling across my bare skin. After a few seconds I opened my eyes again; the lids were heavy and I was shivering uncontrollably, but I was too scared to go back into my tent. As I pulled down the sleeves of my thin jumper I looked around and saw that Daryl was standing in front of me in nothing but his jeans and sneakers. I could not help but to shiver at the sight of him.

"You should get some sleep." He said in a low voice as he came walking towards me. "You'll freeze to death out here."

I did not say anything as he sat down next to me, his elbows resting on his knees.

"I'd offer you my jacket but, you know." I smiled weakly at his wittiness and rested my heavy head on my knees as I glanced up at the stars.

"I can't." I simply said and hugged myself tighter. "I don't want to go back in there, I… I don't want to be alone."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, both with our eyes up at the skies. Then he spoke in a quiet voice, as if he was afraid he might intrude on the silence.

"You want me to keep an eye on yah?" I turned my head to look at him and frowned uncertainly at his proposal.

"You don't have to do that." I said in almost a whisper and shook my head vigorously. "I'm fine, really. I'm… I'm just being stupid as usual."

"It's no problem." He said casually and scratched his chin. "I'm sick and tired of the old man's snorin' anyway."

He stood up and reached out his hand unconcernedly and I took it gladly. I pushed aside the tent flap and fumbled around in the dark for my night light. The battery driven lamp flickered on and lit up the small tent.

"Nice place." I chuckled and looked around at the heaps of clothes and books lying everywhere.

"I'm sorry about the mess. I rarely have visitors." I said apologetically and sat down on the matrass lying in the corner of my tent. I groaned and fell back on it in exhaustion as my brain throbbed violently against my scull. As I closed my eyes and rubbed my face tiredly I felt the weight of the bed shift as Daryl sat down on it. I turned my head and looked at him as he kicked off his dirty sneakers and laid down on the matrass next to me. I moved over as he stretched out with a sigh and placed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. My blood rushed to my face as his warm body pressed against mine as I too tried to close my eyes. I frowned at myself when I realized that my heart was pumping so fast that I, for a brief second, was sure he would hear it. Suddenly the smell of peach found its way up my nose and I sniffed joyfully at the unfamiliar smell.

"You smell nice." I whispered as the smell of him filled my nostrils.

"I took a bath." He croaked back.


	12. Chapter 12

_Greetings! Gee, that was lame… I mean; hi! This is chapter 12 of my story __Some Die Young__, and I really hope you'll enjoy it! _

_Thanks so much for all your lovely comments, it really keeps me going! *hint* *hint* *hint*_

_Today I had my second exam, which means that I have been celebrating all day with a bar of chocolate (which inspired me – see further below) and several daydreams about the most handsome man in the world; Norman Reedus. _

_Please R&R, and I will love you forever!_

* * *

It was a mixture of different sounds that woke me up the next day. People were talking eagerly outside my tent and I felt obligated to get out of bed, even though my body was screaming in protest. I stretched noisily and looked at the empty spot next to me on the bed. For a moment I thought it was just a dream, but I could smell Daryl on my bed sheets and pillow and I smiled sheepishly. As I pulled a white singlet over my head I had to remind myself who I was dealing with. I also had to embrace the possibility of him having swallowed one of Merle's pills by mistake and therefore having been high the whole time. So I made a mental note of not making a big deal out of it and got dressed before I exited the tent feeling sluggish and tired.

The people outside did not even seem to register my appearance as they were too busy either taking down tents and clothing lines or shoving bags and boxes into the RV. The only person who seemed to notice me was Amy who came walking towards me, her arms full of laundry.

"About time! We've been packing up for several hours." She said in a cheerful voice as I yawned dramatically and tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Rough night, I suppose." I said and blinked tiredly at her.

"You ready to leave?"

"Yeah, just let me grab my bag."

I grabbed my large black bag and started shoving clothes and other necessities into it, stripping my tent clean. I dragged the massive thing across camp and sat down on it as I reached the RV. Shane was standing next to the large beige van and smiled as I plumped down in front of him, sighing heavily.

"Mornin'." Shane's strange tone of voice made me nervous and as I squinted at him through the sunlight I could see a wicked smile on his face, as if he knew something I did not.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" I frowned suspiciously at him as he continued to grin stupidly at me.

"… Not much."

"I sort of figured." His arrogant smirk spread across his face as I continued to gawk uncertainly at him.

"How?"

"You know, seeing you had a visitor n'all." I could feel my pale face turning ginger as he chuckled puckishly at my gaping mouth.

"What? No! He was just… _Nothing_ happened!" I staggered and stood up defensively as he croaked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"What's going on?" I jumped as Dale came walking up behind us with a box full of clean dishes and plates, grinning curiously at my flustered face and Shane's humorous one.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." I stated calmly and glared at Shane from over my shoulder as Dale shoved the shabby looking box into his hands.

"Take that to the car will yah? I don't think my back can take any more." Shane walked off and disappeared behind the cluster of people swarming around in the camp. They were all shoving their bags into their already stuffed cars and getting in as if they were all eager to get moving.

"Have you found anyone to ride with?" Dale asked as Andrea and Amy jumped into the RV closely followed by Glenn and T-Dog. I looked around at the half a dozen or so cars parked on the field, which all looked pretty full. I scratched my head uncertainly and muttered something about not having gotten that far yet.

"Maybe Daryl's got room for yah?"

"Fine." The familiar voice made me turn and I had to stop myself from smiling as Daryl emerged from behind the RV wearing a loosely fitted leather west and a blue shirt, the one I had washed for him.

"But I don't want to hear any bitchin' about my drivin'."

"What about Merle?" I asked uncertainly seeing as I was not very keen to repeat what had last happened when the three of us had hitched a ride together.

"He's ridin' the bike." I figured that by bike Daryl meant the awful SS motorcycle Merle had spent countless hours repairing and cleaning up. Not only was it extremely offensive but it was loud and noisy and would probably draw some unwanted attention, but neither Shane nor Dale had said anything. It was common knowledge that one should avoid Merle no matter what, mostly because he was constantly armed with a loaded shotgun; one he seldom hesitated to use.

"Okay then, thanks." I smiled appreciatively as he grabbed my large bag with one arm and threw it over his shoulder in one swift move. He carried it across the field and shoved it into the already crammed backseat. I followed awkwardly behind as he checked the engine for the last time and opened his door to get in, but then he hesitated and looked at me.

"I ain't opening the door for yah, if that's what you're waitin' for." I blushed violently and shook my head in embarrassment before I ran around the car and jumped into the passenger seat just as he put the key in the ignition.

Shane drove first followed by Dale's RV and three more cars including Daryl's. The truck droned loudly when Daryl changed gear and I quickly glanced out the window to get a last look at the campsite before it disappeared as we turned a corner. I sighed and leaned back in my seat and wondered silently how many times we would have to move. My infamous sixth sense told me that this would hardly be the last time, but, then again, my sixth sense had been wrong before…

"You alright?"

"Yes and no…" I gave Daryl a weak smile and sighed heavily again.

"You tired?"

"Yeah, I guess staying up half the night killing zombie's isn't such a good idea, huh?" He grunted and gave me one of his usual condescending looks though with a hint of a smile.

"I thought you were saving that shirt," I said in a humorous voice as I nodded towards the blue shirt he was wearing "you think we're gonna run into many babes in short skirts up in the mountains?"

He glanced down at the piece of clothing and snorted uncharacteristically before he raised his shoulders and shrugged.

"A man can hope, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. In that case I hope I run into a Jacuzzi, a television set and a large box of licorice." I said longingly and curled up in my seat and rested my heavy head on my knees.

"I'd kill for a cigarette." He said with the same pining voice and threw the toothpick he had been chewing on out the window, as if he suddenly realized that it was a poor substitute for a smoke.

"I think it's supposed to be the other way around. _They_ kill _you_, you know." I said and nodded knowingly only to receive a disdainful look from Daryl, but then he shrugged again and turned the wheel as we took a turn to the right.

"Well, what doesn't these days?"

"I've always thought that a box of licorice looked quite harmless, but who knows. I could die from obesity I suppose." I said in mock sincerity and gazed out at the skyscrapers in the distance raging over the forest next to us. We had to be several miles from the city, but I could still see it through my window; smoke emanating from distant fires. I sighed heavily and turned away from the window as I swallowed hard and fixed my gaze on the road ahead. Merle came out from behind us on his motorcycle and overtook several of the cars in front of us while shouting with glee as his west billowed in the strong wind.

"Is it just you and Merle?" I asked in a hoarse voice as I continued to watch Merle as he zigzagged across the opposite lane. From the corner of my eye I could see Daryl shrugging and shifting positions uneasily, as if I had made him uncomfortable. I turned my head to look at him but it took him several seconds before he bothered to look back.

"Yeah, I guess." He croaked as he watched his older brother disappear in the distance.

I sat watching him for a while as he continued to stare out onto the road as if his mind was deeply occupied. Since Daryl did not seem to want to explain further I had to make my own assumptions, and they were far from happy ones.

"How 'bout you? You all alone?" I felt the familiar lump in my stomach twist as Daryl finally spoke after a few miles in complete silence. I hated that people felt the need to emphasize the fact that I was all by myself. Because I was, and I was not happy about it. I had to swallow the uncomfortable lump as it crept up my throat and threatened to burst.

"Yeah, I suppose I am." I said in a hoarse whisper as I stared out onto the open road ahead.

"Hey," Daryl's unfamiliar gentle tone of voice made me turn my sleepy head; his smile was placid and shy but real without a hint of sarcasm or crude irony. "I got your back."

"Thanks Daryl." I could feel my face going red as I smiled sheepishly at the man next to me. After a few seconds something in his eyes changed; he was frowning at something ahead of us and put his leg on the brake as the line of cars slowed down and eventually stopped completely. I followed his stare and my eyes fell on a log which was lying horizontally across the road, blocking our passage. I quickly opened my window and leaned out of it to get a better look and as I craned my neck to see ahead I saw a large lump of metal jammed into the ground.

"What is it?" Daryl had copied my move and was too gazing at the black lump of metal lying in the ditch just ahead of us.

"It looks like a helicopter…" I stated and gave Daryl a worried look. We both jumped out of the car and met up with the rest of the campers by the helicopter-wreck. As we drew closer I caught myself gasping at the sight of it; the military helicopter was half buried in the ditch, its tail broken off and its propeller shattered. It looked as though it had crash-landed and hit a tree because its nose was jammed into the large trunk. The heavy propeller had cut through several of the trees nearby, most of them were now scattered across the area and one of the propeller blades seemed to be jammed in one of the larger tree trunks.

"What on earth happened here?" Dale frowned worryingly at the wreck as the rest of the group gathered around the obstacle, all looking frightened.

"It looks like one of the military helicopters that flew over Atlanta one night." I said as I remembered the night Denise and I had taken cover underneath our beds as half a dozen black military helicopters had flown over the city. "There were explosions all over the city… Do you think they were dropping bombs at us?"

"Yeah," Shane agreed hoarsely and nodded absentmindedly as if he too remembered "we saw it, from the road. They were probably trying to stop the infection from spreading, dropping bombs at the most infested parts of town."

"What the hell happened to this one?" Daryl asked, his crossbow resting on his left shoulder.

"Motor-failure, bad weather, hell they might even have had a walker in there without knowing about it." I shuddered as the image of a faceless pilot being overtaken by a walker flashed before my eyes. I looked mesmerized at the dreary wreck and approached it carefully as Shane ordered people around, trying to remove the log from our path. As I got closer I could see a body through the bloodstained glass; the pilot was strapped to his seat while his copilot was lying on the floor next to him, his arm missing and his torso having been ripped open. As I squinted intensely through the glass to see if there were any more bodies a gray face squeezed against the glass, making me jump backwards in horror and surprise. My yelp drew the attention of Shane and Daryl, who both came running towards me; their guns at the ready.

"What?" Shane asked worryingly, his eyes darting left and right as he came sprinting down the ditch. I pointed at the rotting face with a shaking finger as the walker continued to press against the glass. Daryl picked up a fist size rock and flung it at the helicopter; the glass shattered noisily and as the walker stepped out onto the grass he put an arrow through its scull. It fell sideways onto the ground with a loud thump.

"You really aren't safe anywhere anymore, huh?" I said with a shaky voice and grabbed Shane's hand and pulled myself up. He squinted at the wreckage through the descending sun and shook his head in melancholy before he started making his way back up the lopsided slope. Daryl walked over to the rotting corpse and pulled his arrow viciously from the walker's ear, drying it on his rag as several of the campers gasped in horror and pulled close, like a fearful sheep heard.

"What are we going to do now? It'll be dark soon, we can't stay here." Glenn stated nervously, his scrawny finger pointing at the sundown.

"We'll try and get as much of the log out of the way tonight, and leave first thing in the mornin'."

"Are you crazy? We're too close to the city! It's not safe out here at night." One of the men closest to Shane expressed his concern while clutching his wife's hand tightly, both looking anxious and troubled. Merle grunted loudly from somewhere behind us and descended from his motorcycle, looking far from concerned. He spat out whatever he had been chewing on and cussed loudly at the couple, forcing both Lori and Carol to cover their children's ears.

"Hey! You a pussy or somthin'?" Merle said in his most condescending tone of voice as he pushed through the crowd towards the man, who looked as though he fiercely regretted opening his mouth in the first place.

"Cus' I don't take kindly to pussies."

"Merle!" Shane forced himself between the two men with his arms raised, indicating that he meant no trouble. Merle snarled and smiled malevolently before he desisted and went to stand next to his brother, his shotgun resting casually on his shoulder.

"You mean we have to stay the night?" Lori asked her voice shaking as she put her arms around Carl and squeezed him tight. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, Shane."

"You got a better idea?" Lori stared unblinkingly into Shane's dark eyes before she too shook her head in helplessness, her eyes fixed on the dull sundown.

"Couldn't we just, find another way?" I asked concernedly as Shane and Jim rummaged through the trunk of one of the nearby cars, pulling out some heavy chains and bolt cutters. Under normal circumstances I would not have minded sleeping out on the open road, and by "normal" I mean if I had had my own car to sleep in and no walker's outside my window. Unfortunately I had one, and lacked the other. Where was I going to sleep? Perhaps I would have to volunteer to keep watch, which was something I was sorely hoping to avoid. I was exhausted and drowsy and would probably end up getting everybody killed.

"We can't really spare the fuel…" Dale said and watched as Shane and Jim approached the fallen tree, armed with chains and axes. My heart sank and I sighed heavily as I continued to ponder over where the hell I was going to spend the night. Dale, who was smiling wearily at me, took a step closer and grabbed my shoulders affectionately, his sunhat casting a shadow over his kind face.

"Don't worry, Alice. I'm sure we're safe out here." He said and clearly mistook my dreariness for worry, instead of exhaustion. "We'll get some sleep and be on our way, first thing in the morning."

He gave me another sympathetic smile before he wandered off in the direction of Amy and Andrea that were leaning up against the RV, both looking uneasy. I gave Shane and Jim a scarce look before I sat down on the cool asphalt next to Ed's Cherokee and leaned up against the hard metal, feeling the exhaustion wash over me. The sun was gradually disappearing behind a clog of trees and I hugged myself tighter as the temperature fell as rapidly as the sun, but the thin fabric of my singlet and my tiny shorts did nothing to prevent the goosebumps appearing all over my pale skin.

"How are you doing there, Milky Way?" Glenn's voice forced my heavy eyelids open and I smiled up at him as he made his way towards me, his jeans torn and his cap dirty.

"Is that your new nickname for me now? Milky Way?" I asked humorously as he slouched down next to me.

"You know, gotta shake things up a bit." He said and smiled boyishly at me.

"I truly hope it was inspired by the delicious chocolate-bar and not by the fact that I look like a walking corpse." I said and crooked my eyebrow threateningly at him.

"I'll leave that up to you to decide." He said and nudged me jokily in the rips before he offered me his sweat-shirt. I accepted it with a thanks and covered my naked arms in the warm fabric and leaned against him as he put his arm around me. It reminded me of a simpler time when Glenn and I were just adolescent teenagers who were over the average interested in movies and computer games. We used to challenge each other to watch scary movies and we would always end up in this exact position; his arm around my shoulders and me curled up against him. The only thing missing was the popcorn and the scary movie.

"Even though it totally looks as though someone just dug you up from somewhere."

"Hey!" I said and punched him humorously across the chest. "Don't mock. It's genetic. My mother was a corpse too, you see."

I buried my face in the over-sized jumper as we watched Jim, Shane and Morales as they all plunged their axes into the dead tree.

"Don't look now, but I think Daryl is looking at me…"

My head snapped upright as Glenn whispered worryingly in my ear. He removed his arm slowly from around my shoulders and looked as though he was averting someone's eyes as he placed his hand at the side of his face, blocking Daryl's unfriendly stare from view. I followed his gaze with a frown, a move which made him positively hysterical.

"Don't look!" He hissed at me and stared bluntly in the opposite direction. Daryl was looking grim and annoyed like usual but he was staring at us with unblinking eyes and when he realized I was looking he slowly turned away and walked off.

"Don't be stupid Glenn!" I exclaimed and got up. "He always looks at people like that. It's just… his face!"

"Yeah, maybe…" He said uncertainly and gazed worryingly over his shoulder before he gave me a funny look. I frowned at him.

"What?"

"Nothing…" He looked at his feet uncomfortably and stood up too, scratching the back of his head.

"I ehm… I better go and help Dale with the RV."

Glenn ran off and I was left standing in the shadow of the Cherokee, feeling as though I had just missed something.


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello, again readers! _

_Lately I have really neglected my other chores in favor of writing. As you might have noticed I love the chase and the flirting and the fighting, and this chapter is really no exception. Even though this chapter is filled to the brim with "fluff", I have tried my best to stay true to Daryl's personality. So while you're reading just close your eyes (metaphorically) and picture it the way you think Daryl would've handled the situation. I hope I'm not too far off. I have to soften him up a bit though; it is a romance fan-fic after all… _

_R&R, and I will love you forever!_

* * *

It took the men two hours to remove the entire log from the road, in which time the sun had completely disappeared and we were surrounded by darkness. I had been sitting by Ed and Carol's Cherokee with my head resting comfortably against the cold metal, falling asleep every now and then until Ed finally told me to get the hell away from his truck. I scowled at him before I walked off to join Amy by the RV. We were all, with the exception of Merle and Daryl, gathered around a small electrical lamp, which was the only source of light Shane would allow. Several of the campers were yawning loudly and the children's eyes were slipping shut every few seconds so we all agreed to call it a day. I watched as they all descended to their own cars and I grimaced worryingly as I was left standing on the road alone.

"Alice?" Dale had turned in the doorway of the RV and looked at me with questioning eyes.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep? You've been falling asleep all over the place today."

"I, ehm… I don't have anywhere to go." I said in a low whisper, afraid someone might hear me. I was ashamed, ashamed and alone. And I did _not_ want anyone to pity me. I got enough of it as it was.

"I thought Daryl said you could..?" I shook my head violently as I looked over my shoulder to make sure neither Daryl nor Merle had heard him.

"The hell she is!" I closed my eyes in resentment as Merle came walking up behind me, closely followed by Daryl, who seemed to be avoiding the looks I gave him.

"I ain't havin' her in my car!" He said loudly and scowled at me. "That crazy bitch 'ill probably cut my balls off in my sleep. I ain't havin' that."

"I wouldn't touch your balls with a ten foot pole, Merle." I said in pure resentment and shuddered at the thought of Merle's balls. I had already been in direct contact with them once, and that was one time too many.

"Why can't yah just bunk with that boyfriend of yours?" Daryl said heatedly. "He probably wouldn't mind."

I frowned at him in complete disbelief, even Merle shot Daryl a confused look before he turned to me again and spat viciously on the ground.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" I demanded crudely.

"The Chinaman, you dumb-ass girl!"

"He's _Korean_!" I said loudly, putting empathize on every syllable.

"Whatever! Y'all seemed to be havin' a real nice time earlier." I gaped at him in anger and incredulity as he stared at me in discontentment.

"What?" I asked confused. "What are you talking about? You mean Glenn?"

"Course I do! You deaf or somethin'?" He snarled as I continued to scowl.

"Is that what this is about?" I asked in amazement and disbelief, as if I couldn't quite believe it. "Or did I just do or say anything during the last two hours to upset you?" He did not answer; he just continued to glare at me in repulsion.

"If you put anything more into that than what it was you're either blind or just plain stupid."

"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' about!" He yelled at me, as if my previous words had sent him flying over the edge. I stepped back in fright as he spat his words at me.

"No! No, I don't know! I don't get it!" I said in utter despair and confusion. "And he's _not_..! You know what; forget it." I said coolly and turned to leave but I stopped after just a few steps, feeling confused and hurt.

"Why the hell do you even care about this, about me?" I demanded of him, my voice cracking furiously. "Or don't care about me? Just decide!" I was sick of his mood swings, and I was tired of hearing that I was a problem and a burden and then in the next moment told that I was worth his while. I watched as Daryl's face turned red with fury as he gritted his teeth and spat cruelly at me.

"I don't!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, his manic voice bellowing through the silent night. "I don't give a flying shit about your helpless ass! You're all alone! _No one_ gives a shit about you!"

I stood rooted to the spot for several seconds; until the echo of his voice drowned in the wind. I felt the tears press against my closed eyelids and before either of them could say anything, I turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

"Alice!"

Dale yelled out after me but I ignored him as I continued on down the road and into the woods, my heart beating fast and hot tears rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away with an angry hand and ran through the woods to make sure that no one followed me. Not that anyone would.

It felt as though I had been running for hours when I finally had to stop to breathe. My heart was thundering as I leaned against a tree and slouched down on to the damp ground. As my breathing steadied I felt the unwanted tears force themselves through my eyelids once again. I leaned my head back and let the tears flow freely down my warm cheeks. Daryl's crude words repeated themselves in my head over and over until I finally shook it violently and wiped the salty tears from my face with my sleeves.

The forest was dark and intrusive, and as I looked around me I realized that I was lost. I squinted at my surroundings before I started walking wearily around to see if there were any trees or rocks I recognized, but it was too dark to see and the to an untrained eye every inch of the forest looked the same. Suddenly I felt the sense of panic. How on earth could I be so stupid? This was the _second_ time I has foolishly wandered into a dark forest unarmed and alone. And this time Daryl would not come staggering to my rescue, because he clearly did not care. The thought made me physically ill and I had to clutch my chest when it felt as though someone had just stabbed my heart with a needle.

After half an hour of rummaging helplessly through the woods I slouched down on a large rock and groaned in defeat. As I covered my face with my hands in exhaustion and dread I caught myself thinking back. I regretted leaving my apartment that day. I regretted not going back to Pennsylvania when the infection spread. And I regretted ever moving to Atlanta. But most of all I regretted leaving camp. Why could not I just be the bigger man and turn my other check, like Jesus did? As the thought of Jesus appeared in my head I slowly folded my hands and closed my eyes. Suddenly I felt a drop of water splash across the tip of my nose and before I knew it the skies were opening up above me. I cussed under my breath and ran to seek shelter underneath a large tree with thick branches. I pulled my wet hair behind my ears and pulled the hood over my head as the skies rumbled dramatically above me.. I hunched down and tried to blow some life into my frozen fingers, my teeth clattering loudly as the rain continued to pour down.

An hour or so passed and there were nothing indicating that the heavy rain would stop any time soon so I was forced to remain hidden underneath the branches of the old tree. The rain and darkness played tricks with my mind because every now and then I would see the outline of something resembling a human being, but it would disappear in a second and I was left feeling abandoned and extremely foolish. If I did happen to die, which I had no intention of doing, I could owe it all to myself.

Suddenly I heard the distinctive sound of footsteps through the heavy rain and I could feel my heart razing with glee and hopefulness as a shadow approached me. As I opened my mouth to shout out my voice cracked and I had to try several times before anything sensible came out.

"Hello?"

I stood up quickly, waiting to hear a reply from the approaching shadow, but it did not and I could feel my heart sink as a gray figure stepped out of the rain and into the moonlight. Its face was drawn and cut open in several places and its clothes were dirty and wet from the rain. This time, knowing that I was unarmed, I flung myself out of the way as it stumbled towards me, its rotting gray skin glimmering in the moonlight. I stopped for a split second to pick up a rock from the wet forest bed which I flung at the walker. It hit him square in the face and he tumbled backwards. Just as I thought it would stay down it bolted upright and stood up, just as another one came tumbling out of the darkness. I cursed loudly this time and did not waste any more time throwing rocks, I just ran further and further into the woods until I reached a tree small enough for me to climb. I threw myself over one of the lowest branches and climbed until I was sure I was out of reach. As I reached the highest branch I looked down at the two walkers and grimaced in horror and worry. I was unarmed, alone and exhausted. My breathing was heavy as I leaned my head against the tree trunk and wept.

As daylight approached my body was torn down to its last vigor. For the past three and a half hours I had been standing upright having been too afraid to sit down or move in any manner. But after several hours both my arms and legs were shaking from exhaustion. It had stopped raining a couple of hours ago but my clothes were still wet and my teeth were shattering from the cold. The walkers, however, seemed untouched by the cool air and they had both been groaning and yearning all night, never giving up hope that I might fall down into their arms.

"Alice!"

I jumped in surprise at the sound of someone calling my name and when a familiar figure emerged from behind the trees below me I felt happy tears of relief splurge from my blood shot eyes. Daryl was calling my name repeatedly, his crossbow loaded and ready in his arms.

"I'm here!"

Daryl took out the first walker with and arrow and the second one using his hunting knife, which was always situated in his belt. He stabbed it repeatedly and with unnecessary force before he finally let the carcass fall to the ground with a thump. I started climbing down the slippery tree with limbs as stiff as sticks, tears streaming down my freezing face. Daryl grabbed me before my feet hit the ground and pulled me close in a tight embrace, his warm body pressing against mine. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders and my face was buried in the nook of his neck, my warm tears staining his shirt as I continued to sob uncontrollably. He held me tight for a long time without saying anything, his warm and heavy breath tickling the hairs on my neck. Then suddenly he put me down and took of his leather west and started unbuttoning his shirt without a word. His chest was muscular and his skin was tanned and rough and I had to force myself to look away as he took off his shirt completely.

"Take off your clothes." I frowned uncertainly at him as I hugged myself tight to stop myself from shaking.

"You'll catch your death if yah don't." He said reassuringly when he saw my astonished look, though blushing slightly. "Don't yah know nothin'?" I unzipped my sweater with shaking hands and pulled off the wet garment. I pulled the singlet over my head and as I stepped out of my shorts, leaving me almost completely naked, Daryl averted his eyes awkwardly and handed me his shirt without speaking. I put it on and sighed at the warm feel of it and pulled it tightly around me.

"You alright?" Daryl was crouching down in front of me, his face furrowed and tired. I dried my tearstained face on his shirt and nodded weakly, avoiding his scrutinizing eyes. The clattering of my teeth broke the silence between us as a sharp gust of cold wind billowed around me and found its way down Daryl's shirt. Daryl reached out his hand and placed two fingers on my naked left thigh, his frown deepening as he felt my temperature.

"You'll freeze to death before we get back." He said in a low voice as he got back up on his feet. I watched him uncertainly as he looked left and right for something to cover me up with but, seeing as we were standing in the middle of a forest, there was nothing. He seemed to struggle with himself for a few seconds before he suddenly closed the gap between us in one long stride. I held my breath in anticipation as he placed his strong arms around my small and fragile torso and pulled me towards him. His warm body was in complete contrast to mine, which was cold and wet, so I sighed pleasantly as I laid my head on his chest. He, on the other hand, whimpered loudly as we made contact and cursed repeatedly, as if he had just dived into a pool of icy cold water.

"Shit, you're cold"

"I'm sorry…"

I closed my eyes wearily and placed my shaking arms around his waist, closing the small gap that was separating us. Daryl, who was busy rubbing my back rapidly, stopped just long enough to make me realize that he was taken off guard by the motion. I could feel his heart beating unsteadily as I turned my head to warm the other side of my frozen face.

He stopped his rapid rubbing as I stood up on my tip toes and placed my head on his shoulder, my eyes shut and my breathing ragged. We stood like that for a while, neither of us daring to break the peace.

"I didn't mean it." He suddenly said, in a low and hoarse whisper. "What I said earlier. I didn't mean it…"

"I know." I whispered back, my voice shaking a little less than before. Even though I had my eyes closed, I could tell he was looking at me and after a few seconds in silence I opened them and turned my head slightly to gaze up at him.

"Then why did yah run?"

"It still hurt." I said truthfully as I lifted my head from his shoulder, the swift notion making me slightly dizzy. "You were right about one thing though."

"What's that?"

"I'm all alone."

"I shouldn't 've said that."

"It's okay, I know I am."

"You don't have to be." He said, his voice gentle and calm. I smiled appreciatively and shook my head, then nodded and then I shook my head again as if I did not know what to say. In the end I just smiled at him and wiped a single tear from the corner of my eye.

"You ready to go back?" I nodded vigorously and stepped back as Daryl pulled his arrow from the walker's head and reloaded his crossbow.

"Then let's get the hell outa here."


	14. Chapter 14

_Hi guys! I'm sorry for taking so long, but I've been busy studying for my exams and my boyfriend came to visit me, so I have just not been able to update! _

_I hope you haven't forgotten what happened in the last chapter, because this is the same chapter, just from Daryl's point of view. I was really apprehensive about doing this sort of thing, but when I started writing I just couldn't stop! I think a part of me just wanted to know what he was thinking and feeling (even though I made it all up!) and when I got it all down I sort of hope I got it right. I hope you don't think I'm too far off! _

_Please R&R and I will love you forever!_

* * *

The words had come out before he even had the time to consider them, just as harsh and hurtful as he had meant them to be. He had watched her narrow face as the small glimmer in her eyes disappeared and was replaced by tears of anger and disbelief. The words had hardly passed through his lips before he started regretting them. He did not know why he had said it. A part of him knew why, but it was the part that he would suppress whenever an unwanted emotion would surface. They were unwanted because they made him feel uncomfortable and offbeat, and because they were unfamiliar. The only person he had ever cared for was his brother, and he was in return the only person who had ever cared for him. In his whole life Daryl had come across a handful of people he could stand the sight of, but that was mostly because the majority of them thought like he did, acted like he did and even looked the way he did. It was nothing in them that made him care about them. Not even the women Daryl had been with had meant much to him, if anything at all.

The urge to grab her as she turned away from them in anger almost overpowered him. But he did not know if she wanted him to, so he desisted; his fist clenched tightly to suppress the urge to stop her from leaving. The uncontrollable fury raging in his chest died out as he watched her run through the darkness and into the forest. He heard the desperation in the old man's voice as he called out after her, but she was long gone and out of sight.

"Daryl," he pleaded in confusion as the silence pressed down on them "why on earth would you say something like that?" Daryl looked at the old man's desperate face and opened his mouth to say something, something sarcastic and hurtful but he did not feel like it. He just drew a hand across his sweaty brow and turned away from him without a word. Before he could repress the impulse he plunged his fist into the cold metal of the RV, his uncontrollable fury directed towards himself this time and not the girl. He groaned when the knuckles crunched against the van. He did not care though; he just cursed under his breath and walked away, leaving both Merle and Dale to stare after him.

He jumped into the passenger seat of their truck and took a deep breath before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He knew she would be back eventually. Not even he would go out into the woods unarmed, he was not that stupid and neither was she. Even if she was not much of a fighter he knew she had balls of steel, a fact she probably did not know about herself.

Daryl had been sitting in his truck for more than an hour before he finally found the courage to rejoin the group by the RV. Most of them were probably asleep, but he was sure Dale was still up, and so was Merle and Alice. She had to be back by now. No one in their right mind would stay in the forest any longer than absolutely necessary.

As he made his way towards the van he realized that several people were gathered around the electrical lamp Shane was holding in his hand, and to his surprise they all turned around and looked at him as he came walking up behind them.

"What the hell did you do?" The girl named Amy lounged at him the second she saw him, her blue eyes scowling at him as he frowned at her.

"Get the hell off me, blondie." He snarled as she grabbed his shirt angrily and shook him. Eventually her older sister, Andrea, grabbed her younger sister by her upper arms and forced her off him.

"The hell is all this?" He asked the large group that was now watching him offensively.

"Alice." Shane simply said in a low voice. Daryl shrugged in incomprehension.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She ain't back yet."

Daryl could feel his stomach twist uncomfortably at Shane's words and his heart beating faster as he processed the sentence. _She ain't back yet_. The concern he was feeling quickly turned to anger as he scowled at their leader in disbelief. She was not that stupid. She would not stay in the woods for this long, no matter how angry she was.

"The hell you mean she ain't back yet?" He snarled at the man, his temper rising rapidly. "She brain damaged or somethin'?" He knew she was not, but the words just came flying out of his mouth in anger before he was able to stop them.

"Why the hell isn't she here?"

"She's probably lost," Shane stated worryingly "ain't easy findin' your way back when you don't see shit."

"Then why the hell aren't y'all out lookin' for her?" Daryl demanded harshly of them as if he could not believe that they were just standing there with their hands in their pockets and naively hoping that she would find her way back on her own. He cursed loudly at them when none of them answered; probably not daring to speak up knowing that Daryl's fuse was dangerously short.

"Where are you going?" The group of people watched as Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the passenger seat of his truck and flung it over his left shoulder. He roughly buttoned up his shirt before he tore the flashlight out of Dale's hands and grunted.

"I ain't just gonna sit here twirling my thumbs, like you sorry pricks."

"Daryl, we can't risk going out there tonight. More people could get lost."

"Then stay the fuck home."

Daryl could hear his brother's hoarse chuckle as he turned his back on the group and left. And he could not help but smile in satisfaction when he heard Shane cuss loudly at him as he stormed off. The thought of getting on the good sheriff's nerve was something he found enormous pleasure in, mostly because he neither trusted nor liked him much. It was easier not liking people. He sometimes caught himself making up excuses for not having to like them, even if they were completely outrageous. As he entered the dark woods he realized that he had done the same with Alice. In order to tolerate her he had turned her into a spoiled, stupid and naïve girl who could barely make it to her tent without getting injured in some way or another. But none of this was true. They were attributes he had given her in order to stand having her around, in order to feel comfortable around her.

His eyes were unblinkingly staring into the darkness as he took long and slow strides through the forest, his finger resting on the trigger of his crossbow. It was difficult to make out her trail in the darkness even with a flashlight, but there were unmistakable footprints in the mud in front of him and, to his relief, there seemed to be only one pair of prints. After half an hour of walking he suddenly felt a drop of water splash against his skin. It did not take more than a few minutes before he rain was pouring down and the trail disappeared completely. He cursed under his breath and leaned against a tree as he watched the large drops of water hit the forest bed.

He sat down on a dry rock and looked left and right, as if hoping to see her running out from behind a bush to greet him. He tried to imagine her face when he… if he found her; her grey eyes twinkling in the darkness and her pink lips curling into a glorious smile at the sight of him. The thought was involuntary, but not unpleasant. He could not deny the fact that she was good looking, that she was pretty; no matter how much he wished she was not. He had told her that she was not his type, which was probably true. The girls he had previously been with looked nothing like her; they wore heavy makeup and heels so high that they almost raged over his 5'10 and wore skirts so short that he could gain access without removing it first. A part of him was glad that she looked nothing like those girls, and part of him was not. If she had he would probably just sleep with her and then never so much as think of her again.

Even though the thought of her smiling at him was pleasant, it was sadly rather unlikely, seeing that it was he who had made her leave in the first place. The more likely truth was that she would probably tell him to go to hell.

After twenty minutes or so the rain stopped and Daryl moved out from underneath the large tree and turned his flashlight back on. The trails were gone but it was not long before he found a bloody rock on the ground. He stopped to analyze it and felt his stomach turn as he realized that she had probably run into a walker. Without thinking he shouted her name but there was no reply. After scavenging the woods for another hour he found that the flashlight was no longer necessary seeing that the sun was emerging in the horizon. His eyes were weary and he was forced to rub them repeatedly in order to see straight. He could feel his hope fading as another twenty minutes passed. He would not go back, not without her.

"Alice!" He yelled again, his hoarse voice interrupting the peaceful forest life. His tired head suddenly turned rapidly at the sound of someone calling back at him. He followed the noise in anticipation and spotted her clinging to a branch at the top of a tree surrounded by two walkers reaching hungrily out for her. He could feel his muscles tensing in anger and adrenalin as he fired his arrow at one of the walkers before he approached the other with his knife. He stabbed it repeatedly and with such force that it probably died by the first blow, but he could not help himself. He was overwhelmed with anger towards them and did not stop until his arm twisted in exhaustion.

He watched her as she tumbled down the slippery branches, her face chalk white and her body shaking uncontrollably. Before he even registered his own move he caught her in his arms and held her tight. Her body was tiny against his and even though she was soaked through his arms felt so darn good around her waist. He continued to hold her for a while longer, though careful not to squeeze her too tight fearing that her frail body might break by the lightest touch.

"Take off your clothes." He said in a low voice as he quickly unbuttoned his shirt. The look she gave him made his cheeks redden. Her tear stained face was uncertain and he quickly had to add that it was to keep her from getting a terrible cold. She then undressed with shaking fingers; pulling her zipper down and throwing the garment on the ground and then stepping out of her shorts. He forced himself to look away as she undressed in front of him, though kept stealing looks when she was not watching. His eyes lingered on her white body and he could feel himself turning ginger when his eyes fell on her breast. He quickly looked away as he could feel the blood rushing to a particularly eager limb. He handed her his shirt and sighed in relief when she finally covered herself up.

"You alright?" He asked apprehensively as he crouched down next to her. She dried her eyes and nodded without a word, her mouth turning dangerously blue in the dim light. Her skin felt like ice and the clattering of her teeth reminded him of a cartoon he used to watch when he was little.

"You'll freeze to death before we get back." He said in a low whisper as he watched her trying to blow life into her bony fingers; it was a heart shattering sight. He struggled with himself for a while before he finally succumbed to the urge of pulling her close again. For a moment he was certain that she would throw him off in anger, but instead she placed her arms around his narrow waist, her cold fingers giving him goosebumps.

"Shit, you're cold." He cussed as she leaned her head against his warm chest. Daryl was trying his best to make it look as though his purpose was mainly to reheat her, his muscular arms rubbing her back rapidly as she continued to shiver. But he could not ignore the uncomfortable twitch in his stomach as she put her head on his shoulders and closed her eyes. He wanted to push her away and leave her there. He did not want to feel… anything.

"I didn't mean it… What I said earlier. I didn't mean it." He said in such a low whisper that he almost thought she had not heard him. But she smiled crookedly at him.

"I know."


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey'yall! I'm so sorry for the extremely late update, but I've had several exams and have moved back home for the summer holidays. So hopefully, if my brain doesn't overheat in this crazy weather, I will be able to write more frequently. This is a rather short chapter, begging your pardon, but the next chapter is another chapter from Daryl's point of view. I found that I really enjoyed writing those! _

_Please R&R and I will love you forever! _

Daryl threw the black crossbow over his shoulder before he grabbed me by my waist and legs and lifted me up as if I weighed no more than a bag of flour. The sudden motion caused me to lose the grip of my shirt and it was torn away to reveal my chalk white stomach and chest. I quickly tried to cover up but the fabric was stuck between Daryl's fingers and I was forced to use my one free hand to cover my most intimate parts while blushing violently. The color of Daryl's face changed slightly but he merely snorted at my overreaction and continued to plow through the forest.

"Relax, yah ain't got nothin' I haven't seen before."

"I hope not." I said in earnest and cursed myself for not having brought nicer underwear.

"But I left my sunglasses at home, so here." He said and released the piece of clothing from his grip. I quickly grabbed it and covered myself up before I nudged him hard in the ribs for his snide remark.

"I wasn't really thinking about you," I stuttered as another gust of wind tickled my bare skin. "I was thinking more in the lines of avoiding flashing everyone back at camp. I don't think they brought their sunglasses either."

"Merle wouldn't mind seen' a little skin." He said humorously. "God knows the old man hasn't seen a naked lady in a while."

"God, I hope he didn't get any further than seeing one…"

"Aren't you busy freezin' to death or somethin'?" He asked in a stern voice as I chuckled weakly at my own joke.

We continued on through the forest as the sun emerged from behind the trees. As the warm beams hit my face I could feel my temperature rising pleasantly.

"Aren't you getting tired of carrying me everywhere?" I asked Daryl, breaking the peaceful silence that had settled between us. He grunted characteristically as he stepped over an obstacle in his way, crooking his eyebrow at me.

"I've carried heavier loads than you, in my day." He murmured reassuringly. "I can't even count the times I've had to drag my wasted brother home from the bar." He snorted as I smiled sympathetically at him. It was the first time Daryl had revealed something from his previous life, before the world had suddenly ended. Even if it was not a particularly happy memory I appreciated it immensely.

The sun rose and I could feel my temperature climbing rapidly, so rapidly in fact that it at one point became unbearable. Waves of heat washed over me followed by an extreme dizziness and, as Daryl carried me across a shallow creek, a sharp pain erupted from somewhere inside of me.

"Daryl," I croaked, clutching my chest in pain "I don't feel so good…"

Daryl stopped in his tracks and gazed down at me, his face creased and severe. I groaned as the unfamiliar pain continued to throb uncomfortably in my chest.

"You don't look so good either." He said concernedly and twisted his arm awkwardly in order to feel my hot forehead. "You're burnin' up."

"My chest, it really hurts."

Daryl cursed viciously under his breath before he suddenly tightened his grip around my shoulders and legs and started running through the misty forest. Thankfully it did not take long before we reached the end of it and Daryl finally slowed down, his breathing ragged and his body covered in sweat. I opened my eyes just long enough to realize that we were approaching our rest stop and that several people were running towards us in apprehension and relief.

"Oh my…" Dale's voice was full of concern and anxiety as he came sprinting towards us "Is she alright?"

"Outa my way, old man." Daryl growled as he forced his way through the growing crowd, now even bothering to give his brother a reassuring word as we passed. Merle was, in complete contrast to the people around him, smirking impishly at us as we approached the RV.

"Ain't you a sight for sore eyes?" He said cheekily as Daryl and I passed. I could feel his eyes on my naked thighs and apparently, so could Daryl because he quickly covered them up and gave his older brother a harsh look. I suddenly felt a pair of gentle hands on my arm and as I turned my heavy head slightly to the right I could see Glenn's furrowed face staring back at me. As he squeezed my hand affectionately I gazed up at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I was sure it looked more like a grimace as the corners of my mouth twisted uncomfortably as my chest continued to ache.

Daryl was headed towards the RV when Shane suddenly cut him off, looking anxious and rather impatient.

"She bit?" He asked bluntly as his eyes scanned what was visible of my body. Daryl hissed irritably at the former officer and nudged him hard in the chest, as if daring him to touch me.

"Yah best get the hell outa my way, asshole." He snarled threateningly. "Before I kick your teeth in."

Shane glared at Daryl for a few seconds before he finally stepped off, letting Daryl pass. He carried me over the threshold and placed me gently down on the small sofa in the far end of the RV. Dale, Glenn and Amy were all following behind, all looking pale and anxious as Daryl grabbed a blanket from the cupboard and covered me in it.

Dale was leaning down next to me, his right hand placed firmly on my forehead and his left on my pulse. I tried to sit upright, feeling stupid as they all gazed down at me in worry.

"Don't fuzz." I said irritably as Dale turned his hand in order to place the cool side down on my forehead. As Dale spoke to Daryl in a low voice I opened my mouth to tell them not to talk about me as if I was not there but as the hot air filled my lungs my throat closed up and I started coughing uncontrollably into my hands. My throat singed after the attack wore off and I was happy to accept the glass of water Glenn offered me.

"She's got one hell of a cold." Dale stated concernedly as he took the empty glass and refilled it for me. Daryl nodded absentmindedly as I gulped down the content of the glass. His sharp blue eyes bothered me as they gazed up from underneath a pair of heavy eyebrows. It was like he had been caught doing something naughty, like a schoolboy caught with his sister's ponytail in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. But I realized after a while that it was just his way of looking at me, and it was a look he had been giving me ever since I ran into him on the street outside my apartment. Perhaps not during one of his tantrums but when he thought I was not looking. I caught myself wondering what he meant by them.

"She gonna be alright?" Daryl asked in a voice so gentle that I almost did not recognize it. If I had not been staring directly at him I would not have believed it to be his. Dale did not look at Daryl, nor Glenn and Amy, when he raised his shoulders and sighed hopelessly as my throat closed up again. I turned my head hurriedly as if I was about to vomit and pressed my face into the pillow as the hoarse but heavy cough found its way up my throat.

"Lord knows I'm not a doctor," Dale said uncertainly, as if he for the first time in his life regretted that fact "but I think she'll be fine. It's probably just a cold, nothing that can't be cured by a little R and R."

The three of them looked skeptical, Daryl most of all, but seemed to accept his verdict. It was something about an old man's reassurance that was strangely soothing. As if his word was something to rely on, even if he had no knowledge on the matter. I thought, as they all left me, that it had something to do with gained experience. Older people had after all seen and done it all, or so we thought. Or perhaps it was just Dale's trusting nature. All I knew was that the drowsiness that crept over me as I lay there on the couch-bed would not go away, not for a long while. Dale was wrong.


	16. Chapter 16

_Loooooooooong time, no see, dear readers! I don't think I'll be over exaggerating when I say that the 'o's represent the amount of times I have sat down with this story and failed to finish it. But, here I am again, with another chapter. Thank you all for all your great reviews, I really don't think I deserve them! But I do appreciate them, that's for sure! I hope you'll enjoy this next one as well, from Daryl's point of view (whoop whoop!). _

_And I am SOOOOO excited about the new season, and I bet you guys are too! I have so many other stories in my head that I want to write about and show you, but I think I'll be better off sticking to one story at the time. Besides, my exams are coming up, and I don't think I'll have much time to spare… Unless I sacrifice my beauty sleep… which is quite unrealistic. _

_Anyhow, ENJOY! And please R&R – and if you have any ideas for the story, PLEASE SHARE!_

He was woken the next morning by a sound that turned his insides into ice. The distant sound of someone coughing violently had brought him to his feet in less than a second and his eyes had been forced to adjust to the bright light even if they were not completely ready for it. It was early. So early, in fact, that the sun was barely visible behind the treetops. But he had grown custom to the lack of sleep. Lord knows how many times he had been shaken awake by his hysterical mother in the middle of the night, screaming in agitation that Merle had been arrested. Again. After the first six times the excitement of it all had grown weary, even though their mother did not. She never got used to Merle's wild ways and acted surprised every time an officer pounded on their door. Maybe it was all an act, but he thought it more likely that she was just blind, or stupid. He shrugged carelessly and reminded himself that the old bat was long gone anyway, and you are not supposed to talk ill of the dead.

Daryl stifled a yawn and drew a drowsy hand through his sandy hair before he jumped off the rear end of the car, causing it to wobble dangerously; a move which seemed to bring Merle back from his coma. The man in the front seat glowered through his window at Daryl.

"The hell are you doin' up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," he lied and cleared his groggy voice when he realized that it was not quite as strong as he wanted it to be "your goddamn snorin's been keepin' me up all night anyways."

"Fuck you," Merle spat, his voice hoarse with sleepiness and his eyes groggy and drained, "we both know I don't snore."

"I ain't deaf, you old fart." Daryl watched as the older brother flipped him off and rolled around on his side before he, just a few seconds later, started grunting noisily in his sleep again.

The violent coughing continued only a few minutes later when Daryl was busy draining a bottle of water, but it spilled from his lips and soaked his flannel west as he wrenched his head around to identify the sound. Of course he knew what it was, he had been lying awake four nights in a row trying to block it out, but it was impossible. In a desperate rage he had burst into the RV in the middle of the night with his massive fists clenched, half a mind to strangle her and half a mind to grab her cold hands and beg for her to stop. Of course it was not her fault; it was his, all his fault. But every time these guilty thoughts emerged from the depth of his conscience he would force them back, as if they were intruders. But this strong force-field that had kept all these unwanted emotions at bay for so many years was slowly bursting, as if someone had taken a swing at it with a pick-axe.

The sound came from an open window in the RV and as he stared at the van's beige walls he could almost picture her lying sprawled out on the bed, twisting and turning uncomfortably as the horrendous coughing kept her from filling her anxious lungs with air. But whenever she did manage to draw her breath she reminded him of a 100 year-old woman who had lost her oxygen tank.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Merle's groggy voice interrupted his unpleasant thoughts and as he turned his weary head away from the van he could see his brother's exhausted face pressed up against the window of their truck. "I'm gonna kill that fucking bitch. Put us all out of our misery."

Daryl silently fought the urge to grab his older brother through the open window and strangle him. Merle had been more than reluctant to help and had spent most of his time locked away in his truck, drinking whatever he could find in the abandoned cars on the side of the road. Daryl had followed his brother's example and had turned the uninhibited cars inside out, but not so much hoping to find booze as hoping to find medicine. He had grabbed whatever resembled any kind of drug, but the pills he had found were mostly regular aspirins or just tick-tacks. He had flung them into the woods in rage and left the rest of the group wondering what had come over him. But he did not care; he could not care less what they thought, nor did he care what happened to them. There was only one obvious exception, even if he would never admit it.

Daryl watched as his brother turned away from the window and fell into an oblivious sleep, his snoring only slightly muffled by the metal walls separating them. When he was certain that his older brother was asleep he continued his intense glaring, as if struggling to make a decision. He wanted to check on her. Before he had even decided his legs had carried him across the road towards the RV, involuntarily but not entirely against his will. As he reached out his hand he glanced around to make sure that no one saw him, but it was too early; they were all probably still sleeping. The sun was barely visible behind the treetops and when he in one swift move hurried inside and closed the shabby door behind him he could scarcely see his own muddy feet on the floor beneath him. But he knew where she lay; he could hear her heavy breathing through the darkness. When he heard the sound of someone groaning in their sleep he had half a mind to turn on his heel and leave, but the sound of her ragged breathing kept him from it and he found himself digging his way through the obstacles on the floor, following the noise like in a trance.

The small window on the wall to his left provided him with just enough light to spot her on the bed. The gloomy light made her skin glow in an almost ghostly fashion, as if she had not seen the light of day in four months rather than four days. Her eyes were tightly shut, as if she was having a horrendous nightmare she could not wake up from, and her small mouth was hanging slightly open, just enough to reveal a row of pearly white teeth. He stared at her for a long while, trying to be rid of the involuntary emotions that appeared whenever he would look at her; he was facing his fears. Merle had once forced a rattle snake into his arms, when he was just a little kid. He was convinced that the action would cure Daryl's fare of snakes. He had told him that no brother of his was going to fear something as pathetic as a snake. Daryl had turned stiff with fear and let the snake slither through his fingers and around his arm before his brother, after what had felt like a lifetime, removed it and thrown it back into its cage. In a brutal way it had worked. Daryl had never been afraid of snakes after that. But as he stared down at his current undesirable object he could not feel the lump disappearing from his stomach. It was still there, still vibrating uncomfortably at the pit of his chest.

Before he could stop himself he reached out his hand and put it on her forehead; it was icy cold and burning hot at the same time.

"What are you doing?"

The blood in Daryl's veins turned to ice when the sound of someone whispering caught him off guard. He turned his head so quickly that something popped in his neck and made his eyesight fuzzy and unclear. But through the blurry fog he could see the familiar face of Glenn blinking wearily back at him in confusion. Daryl suddenly felt his skin boiling with embarrassment as the Asian rubbed his eyes and frowned.

"I'm… I'm…" He stuttered uncharacteristically before he clenched his teeth in anger and resentment. "Mind your own goddamn business."

"What the hell are you doin'?"

"I sleep here." Glenn whispered and pulled the small rugged blanket off his legs. He was fully dressed with the exception of his baseball camp, which was prompted on a small night table to his right. "And I watch over her. You know, just in case."

Daryl could feel his insides twisting in antipathy as he watched the scrawny kid next to him glance over at Alice's bed, almost longingly. She had not moved one inch since he had last looked at her and her face was still creased with exhaustion, as if the nightmare was sucking the energy out of her. His gaze lingered, even if he had not meant it to and when he finally turned back to face his intruder Glenn was looking somewhat smug, as if he had just realized something.

"In case of what?" Daryl snarled in spite, daring the Asian to say the word they were all dreading, that _he _was dreading. He could feel his fist clenching at the mere thought of it; _death_. They were all thinking it, whispering to each other in low and sincere voices, as if they had accepted it. They had all lost somebody, somebody close, and they knew exactly what it felt like. An involuntary emotion erupted in his abdomen, because he had never lost anybody, let alone someone he cared about; he did not know what it would feel like.

"You know…" He repeated, as if he did not dare say it out loud.

"I don't know shit!" Daryl hissed and scowled at Glenn, who looked more and more uncomfortable, as if he felt guilty for even thinking it. In the dim light his face turned red and he stared uncomfortably at his shoes before he, after a few moments in silence, opened his mouth in desperation, obviously wanting him to know that he dreaded it as much as he did.

"I know it's hard, and I don't… I don't want to think about it either but…" he hesitated and glanced over at her once again before he continued, afraid she might hear him. "She's not getting any better, Daryl."

At the mention of his name Daryl suddenly felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. The sentence was directed at him, it had been forced on him even if he did not want to hear it. But the minute he had said it he knew it was true. It had been four days; they had been waiting for a sign of recovery for four days. But she was only getting worse. What a fucked up world, everything goes to shit and you are killed by pneumonia. In a different circumstance the irony of this might amuse him, but not today. The thought of it made him want to throw up. He could feel the unfamiliar and painful emotion pressing at his chest as he sat there crouched down next to her, just as helpless and indigent as one of his tick-tacks. But it was quickly replaced by an emotion he knew all too well; fury and it was directed at Glenn who had been eying him cautiously during the past few minutes.

"Since when the hell did y'all become fucking doctors?" Daryl's voice was accusative as he stood up briskly in the darkness, tipping something over as he did so. The sound of something breakable cursing against the floorboards echoed through the RV but he was out the door before the final piece of glass had landed on the ground. He could hear their agitated and tired voices as he slammed the door shut behind him and stormed off into the woods without a purpose. He did not need these people; the mere thought of them infuriated him. They could not care less about her, throwing her into a hopeless pit of death before he had even had the chance to make things right. In its familiarity his rage felt almost comforting as he stomped off into the dimly lit forest, cussing loudly at nothing and no one in particular as he went. It was comforting in the sense that it was something he knew how to handle, even if he could not quite control it. It was liberating even if it was misdirected. If anything it should have been directed at himself. But whilst in the middle of one of his outbursts this was something he would never admit. What the hell did they know, he though as he trashed the forest bed with his feet, like a stubborn child. _They didn't know shit_.

The rage he felt, it was as if his very skin was on fire and he needed to hit something, kill something. And then he saw the very thing he needed most; a walker wandering through the woods with only one thought resonating through its mind in a way that was puzzlingly similar to Daryl. And in a moment of sudden clarity he realized that it was little or no difference between them in that moment, because they both desired to kill.

The walker was standing so far away that Daryl in any other circumstance would have ignored it, but in a matter of seconds Daryl had closed the distance between them and had forced his knife into its left eye socket before the walker had even realized he was there. The first blow had undoubtedly killed it but it was more of a therapeutic way to deal with the incensing rage that was soaring through him, like a drug, and he stabbed and stabbed until its face was beyond recognizable.

His breathing was heavy with exhaustion as he plumped down on the ground next to his now faceless victim. The rage had left him in a way that resembled a balloon running out of air and for a moment he had to think hard to remember what it was that had infuriated him. _Death_. It had been the thought of death. His heart suddenly felt too big for his chest as he heaved for air; the thought of her dying was… it made him sick to his stomach. He could feel the blood draining from his face as the sickening feeling overpowered him, as if he had just caught the scent of something repellent, something rotten. He quickly turned on all four and closed his eyes tightly shut, his stomach twisting excruciatingly with nausea. But nothing came up; he was left standing with his head between his shoulders all the while trying to swallow his massive heart.

What could he do? Was he supposed to lean back and watch her die like the rest of the group was doing? His mind traveled back to the night before when he had overheard a couple of nameless members (nameless because they did not matter to him) of the group whispering quietly together, clearly not realizing that Daryl was in earshot. _Some die young_, they had said, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. This statement had made his skin crawl with hatred, almost as if he had lunged into a pool of cold water, but he had ignored them thinking like he always did that he knew better. But as he lay there on the forest ground with the morning sun licking his face he thought that it might be true. Some _did_ die young.

It was the thought of Merle that made his heart leap with a sudden exhilaration, and the desperate hope that now clung to his chest almost made it difficult for him to breathe. It was not so much the thought of his older brother that had excited him but his bag, the bag he had been told never to touch, made his hair stand on edge. Before he had even realized it he was on his feet again, wobbling dangerously at the sudden motion, and was soaring though the woods like a bullet.

As he walked past the familiar faces he had been forced to share air with for the past month he scouted for his brother's amongst theirs, but he was nowhere to be seen. This did not surprise him though, the last place he would look for his brother would be it the midst of a group of people he resented. And when he was not there he extended his gaze and squinted through the dirty glass of their truck; no one. In one swift move Daryl jumped over the railing and started tearing through every bag he could get his hands on. A black leather pouch; he had seen it so many times before and he knew exactly what it contained. His arm was busy rummaging through a random backpack when he caught the sight of something black in the corner. But before his fingers had had the time to grab a hold of it he was being pulled violently backwards by his hair. The sudden motion had taken him off guard and as he was being dragged by his hair over the railing and on to the pavement, he could not do anything but glare up at his brother. His face was dangerously calm as Merle grabbed the leather pouch and held it up to his face.

"Now what do yah want with this, I wonder?" Merle laughed thrillingly before he bent down next to Daryl, who was lying awkwardly on the pavement, not knowing whether to lie or not.

"This 'ere's my personal stash. But I thought you'd know that considering the amount of times I've told yah never to touch it." Daryl remained quiet as Merle continued to dangle the pouch teasingly before his eyes.

"You're paranoid, old man." Said Daryl and shrugged carelessly.

"What the hell do you take me for? A damn fool?" The hushed whisper sent chills down Daryl's back and he was struggling to keep his cool as Merle grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.

"I wasn't…" the punch took Daryl completely by surprise and his sentence was cut short as he felt his brain rattle dangerously in his skull. He could sense his nose breaking; the feeling of blood flowing from his nose and into his mouth was too familiar. And as Merle grabbed his jaw brutally and forced his gaze back onto his face, he was not surprised to see that it was foggy and unclear.

"I've been waitin' for someone to try and take 'em… Didn't think it'd be you, though." Merle chuckled mercilessly, his voice thick with suppressed loading. "My own brother…"

Daryl, whose mouth was now full of blood, said nothing. He knew his brother well enough not to argue with him during one of his unobtrusive fits. Merle's distinctive crooked smile looked strained and bitter as he clenched the pouch between his murky fingers, the pills rattling noisily as he did so.

"Well, what've yah got to say for yahself?" He croaked, as a sudden mass of people gathered around them cautiously, muttering quietly to each other. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue or somethin'?"

As a response, Daryl spat brutishly on the pavement, blood and spit dripping morosely from his chin. As Merle gripped his brother's shirt tighter his grin had vanished and the pretense had been dropped. His icy blue eyes, which in so many ways resembled Daryl's was fixed unblinkingly on Daryl's bloodstained face. Then a sharp and familiar voice broke the intense silence.

"Merle, what the hell are you doin'? Get off him!"

"If yah wouldn't mind, officer, this 'ere's between my little brother and me." Merle groused loudly, his fingernails digging mercilessly into Daryl's chest. "Seems Darleen here has lost her head to a pair of pretty brown eyes, ain't that right, brother?"

"Merle, don't be such an asshole! Can't you see his bleeding?" Daryl, who did not turn away from his brother, recognized Andrea's voice from somewhere behind him; firm and fearless as it usually was. Merle ignored her, ruthlessly.

"Yah think she cares about your sorry ass? Huh? That two-faced upper-class pussy ain't good for nothin'. She doesn't care. And still you care more for her than your old pal Merle. You're a joke, that's what yah are. She ain't never gonna look twice at you." Daryl felt as though someone had poured a bucket of icy cold water over his head. Merle's hostile words lingered on his mind as he fought the vehemence that had arisen from the pit of his stomach.

"Ain't nobody ever gonna care, little brother. Nobody except me. You best remember that the next time she smiles pretty at you."

"She'll die." Daryl said bluntly, the casualty in his tone sounding foreign and hollow, as if knowing that this statement was spoken to deaf ears. Merle, whose face was already dangerously close to Daryl's, leaned closer and grinned.

"I couldn't care less if she was seconds away from dancing conga with Satan himself. I ain't givin' her my stash."

"Yes, you will." From the corner of his eye Daryl could see Glenn standing only feet from where they were sitting, his arms outstretched and his fingers nervously clutching a silver gun. It was aimed at Merle. Merle's sheepish grin widened as he slowly turned to face the fidgeting boy behind him, his left eyebrow raised in surprise and wittiness.

"Well, ain't you a sight." He chortled loudly, in arms raised in mock sincerity. "A China-man who has got a pair, I never thought I'd see the day."

"I'm Korean."

"Potato, potato."

"What is that? In that bag, what is it?"

"Nothin' of your concern, karate kid."

"It's… It's pills, isn't it?" Merle shrugged unconcernedly. "You have to give them to us. She'll die!"

"Hey, we're all gonna die someday. It's a good a day as any."

"Hand them over!"

"Or else, what? You gonna shoot that thing at me?" Merle's snort was so loud that several of the spectators jumped backwards in tremor and revolution. "You best kill me dead then, 'cus I ain't too kind to people who threaten me."

Before Merle was able to explain to Glenn exactly what he did to people who threatened him Shane, Morales and Jim had thrown themselves over him and managed to pin him ferociously to the ground. Morales, who tore the bag from Merle's grasp was brutally knocked over the head by Merle's furiously kicking feet, and was left stuttering backwards in pain.

"Your sons of bitches! Get your filthy hands off my stash!" Merle's hysteric voice sent a hoard of birds flying terrified from the treetops. And in the midst of the hysteria Daryl grabbed the bag from Morales and slipped unnoticed through the crowd and into the dark and damp RV.


End file.
